Gardaí have been conducting extensive searches for Arlene Arkinson, a schoolgirl from Castlederg in Co Tyrone, who has been missing for nearly three decades after her disappearance following an evening in Bundoran on August 13, 1994, with her whereabouts unknown since then. Arlene was just 15 years of age when she vanished.
A spokesperson for the Garda confirmed that since Tuesday, the searches have been actively continuing in Glenfin, located in the heart of Co Donegal, however, no additional information is readily available currently.
In 2021, an extensive inquest held in Co Tyrone deduced that Robert Howard, a man previously convicted of murder and sexual offenses, was the individual to blame for Ms Arkinson’s death, based on the available evidence. Howard, a native of Co Laois, had been indicted for her murder in 2002, but was later cleared in 2005. Howard spent his final years in a prison in England, where he died in 2015. He was serving a life imprisonment for the rape and murder of Hannah Williams, a 14-year-old girl from London.
The inquest was overseen by Coroner Brian Sherrard at Omagh courthouse, who concluded that Ms Arkinson’s death could be attributed to Howard. “Robert Howard, a violent sexual offender, was the last individual seen with Arlene early on August 14, 1994, and he is guilty of her death. The exact cause of death remains uncertain,” he stated in court.
Despite exhaustive investigation and search, Arlene’s body remains untraced. In 2018, a body that was excavated in Co Sligo, as a part of the search operation for Arlene’s remains, turned out to not be hers.