Co Tyrone teenager Arlene Arkinson, who is the focus of fresh searches in Co Donegal for her remains, was last seen alive in 1994, with her family since enduring three decades of heartache.
Aged just 15, the Castlederg schoolgirl went missing in 1994 after having attended a disco in Bundoran on the evening of Saturday August 13.
Arlene was last spotted alive in Castlederg in the early hours of the following day, Sunday August 14.
She was seen in a car with Robert Howard, who was originally from Co Laois.
Following an initial police investigation, Howard was arrested in connection with Arlene’s disappearance, but was released without charge.
However, in 2002 Howard was charged with murdering Arlene, but following a trail was acquitted in 2005.
In the wake of his acquittal, details emerged of his past crimes, including the fact he had been found guilty in 2003 of the rape and murder of 14-year-old London teenager Hannah Williams two years earlier.
As efforts continued to hold an inquest into the death of Arlene Arkinson, Howard won permission in 2011 to challenge the holding of a coroner’s court hearing, with his lawyers claiming it involved an attempt to undermine his 2005 not guilty verdict.
Howard died in prison in England in 2015 at the age of 71.
The inquest into Arlene’s death finally began in 2016, the same year as unsuccessful fresh searches for her remains took place in Killen, outside Castlederg.
In 2017, the spotlight fell on the police investigation into Arlene’s case on both sides of the border.
The teen’s sister, Kathleen Arkinson, launched civil action against the PSNI chief constable over the way she was treated by RUC officers investigating Arlene’s disappearance.
Kathleen’s garden had been dug up in 1996 during police searches of her home, which it was later claimed during the inquest were carried out as a result of the repetition of a hearsay statement.
That same year, Arlene’s family said they were “appalled” at the lack of assistance from authorities in the Republic, and delays by Gardaí in handing over files relating to the case, which in turn had delayed the inquest.
In 2021, following the conclusion of the inquest, Coroner Brian Sherrard said Howard was “responsible” for Arlene’s death.
Over the years, numerous searches have taken place for Arlene’s remains, including in Co Sligo in 2018.
This year saw a Gardaí search for Arlene’s remains take place in May in the Castlefin area of Co Donegal, while in August, her family held a vigil to mark 30 years since the disappearance of their loved one.
Now a fresh search is underway at Ballybobaneen Forest in the Glenfin area of Co Donegal, with Arlene’s family once again hoping they will be able to lay her to rest.
