Family will never give up search for her body – MASHAHER

The sister of Arlene Arkinson, who was murdered 30 years ago, has said she will never give up hope that her body will be found.

The 15-year-old from Castlederg, County Tyrone, disappeared in August 1994 after a night out in Bundoran, County Donegal.

In July 2021, an inquest found she was murdered by convicted child killer and rapist Robert Howard, who died in 2015. He had previously been charged with her murder in 2002 but acquitted in 2005.

Speaking ahead of a 30th anniversary vigil, Kathleen Arkinson said her sister deserved “to be found and get a decent burial” and that she believed deep in her heart that “some day Arlene will be found”.

Numerous searches, including some in vast swathes of bogland and forestry near the Irish border, have been carried out in search of Ms Arkinson’s remains.

One of the last searches was conducted by An Garda Síochána (the Irish police service) in May 2024 in the Castlefin area of County Donegal.

Kathleen Arkinson said she has mixed emotions ahead of the memorial in her sister’s memory.

“One day I’m alright, the next I’m not – I just can’t believe it’s been 30 years,” she said.

“I’m thinking about Arlene and that night – I know she suffered, but I just wish I could’ve taken the pain.”

“[Robert] Howard killed Arlene, but he also killed a part of us as well,” she added.

Howard, who was the last person seen with Arlene Arkinson before her disappearance, was previously charged with her murder, but was acquitted in 2005.

The jury in the case was not told of his history of violent sexual offences and that he had already been convicted of the murder and rape of schoolgirl Hannah Williams in London in 2001.

When Arlene Arkinson disappeared, he was on bail for a series of violent sexual offences against a teenage girl.

He died in prison in 2015, aged 71.

A subsequent inquest later found that Howard was responsible for Arlene Arkinson’s murder.

Kathleen Arkinson said “the whole system let Arlene down” and their family are still left with many unanswered questions.

The family’s solicitor, Des Doherty, told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme that there was “fresh momentum” to look at the case again and urged Justice Minister Naomi Long to reconsider her decision not to call a public inquiry.

Mr Doherty said the family had been left in a “legal void”.

“If a public inquiry is the only way to keep their case in the public eye, then so be it,” the solicitor said.

“I do not see any other legal option [other than a public inquiry] that is available to the family at this point.

“I think new information will come to light.”

He said any public inquiry should not only focus on the activities of Howard “more closely”, but also look at the “legal system in this jurisdiction and how the law and the police behaved in relation to this case and how it was dealt with”.

A former police officer who led the Hannah Williams murder investigation, and worked on the Arlene Arkinson case, has backed the family’s calls for an inquiry.

Former Kent Police Det Ch Insp Colin Murray told BBC NI’s Good Morning Ulster programme the then Royal Ulster Constabulary had failed the family.

“I feel the family had been let down by the police, more effort should have been put into that investigation – if it had have been they may have recovered forensic evidence that would have been telling,” he said.

“This was a young girl going about her business, no harm to anybody, murdered and really neglected over all these years”.

He said he believed Howard was a low level informant for the security forces and was “free to roam the Castlederg area and give them information”.

“I feel the police service have let the family down, there are still questions to be asked, whether they get those answers I just do not know,” he added.

Justice Minister Naomi Long said she had met the Arkinson family, and that she “fully appreciates the past 30 years have been deeply traumatic as they have continued to grieve and search for answers on behalf of Arlene”.

“My decision not to establish a public enquiry was taken after very careful consideration of everything that had been put before me, both verbally and in writing, by the Arkinson family and by their legal representative,” she said.

“I also took account of the coroner’s detailed inquest findings, the Police Ombudsman report into the handling of the police investigation into Arlene’s disappearance, and the significant changes to police missing person policies.”

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said their investigation into the disappearance and murder of Arlene Arkinson was “dedicated and extensive, and we share genuine frustrations that Arlene’s body was never found”.

“While all active lines of enquiry have concluded, it is not too late for anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward,” they said.