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| Arlene Arkinson search: Police in plea to end family's 'torment' | Arlene Arkinson search: Police in plea to end family's 'torment' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Police have pledged to do all they can to recover the body of missing County Tyrone teenager Arlene Arkinson as searches get under way for her remains. | Police have pledged to do all they can to recover the body of missing County Tyrone teenager Arlene Arkinson as searches get under way for her remains. |
| Arlene, from Castlederg in County Tyrone, was 15 when she disappeared in 1994 after a night out in Bundoran, County Donegal. She is believed to have been abducted and murdered. | Arlene, from Castlederg in County Tyrone, was 15 when she disappeared in 1994 after a night out in Bundoran, County Donegal. She is believed to have been abducted and murdered. |
| Convicted child-killer and rapist, Robert Howard, 77, was charged with her murder but was acquitted. | Convicted child-killer and rapist, Robert Howard, 77, was charged with her murder but was acquitted. |
| The police will now search 40 sites. | The police will now search 40 sites. |
| On Wednesday, a team of police officers and specialist dogs started searches on land at Scraghy Road between Castlederg and Ederney, County Fermanagh, where Arlene was last seen in the early hours of 14 August 1994. | On Wednesday, a team of police officers and specialist dogs started searches on land at Scraghy Road between Castlederg and Ederney, County Fermanagh, where Arlene was last seen in the early hours of 14 August 1994. |
| Police said this was the beginning of a strategy which would be progressed at a number of locations in the "Castlederg area and beyond over the coming months". | Police said this was the beginning of a strategy which would be progressed at a number of locations in the "Castlederg area and beyond over the coming months". |
| They said plans had been drawn up to cover a large number of sites which have links to the investigation into Arlene's murder which would be dependent on "weather conditions, availability of resources and operational commitments". | They said plans had been drawn up to cover a large number of sites which have links to the investigation into Arlene's murder which would be dependent on "weather conditions, availability of resources and operational commitments". |
| The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Superintendent Raymond Murray, said Arlene's family "had been in torment for 17 years" and that police wanted to do everything they possibly could to bring closure. | The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Superintendent Raymond Murray, said Arlene's family "had been in torment for 17 years" and that police wanted to do everything they possibly could to bring closure. |
| "Arlene's sisters and brothers have suffered for too long," he said. | "Arlene's sisters and brothers have suffered for too long," he said. |
| "Despite the considerable time gap and the challenges involved in locating remains, we will do everything we possibly can to achieve this. | "Despite the considerable time gap and the challenges involved in locating remains, we will do everything we possibly can to achieve this. |
| "On a policing level, the recovery of remains may represent a significant opportunity to progress the investigation, as knowledge of any remains or the location of a body deposition site may provide evidence to further our enquiries." | "On a policing level, the recovery of remains may represent a significant opportunity to progress the investigation, as knowledge of any remains or the location of a body deposition site may provide evidence to further our enquiries." |
| Appeals | Appeals |
| Det Supt Murray said that although the police investigation had been extensive and there had been a court case, he did not rule out the possibility that there was "information in the local community which still has not been provided to detectives". | Det Supt Murray said that although the police investigation had been extensive and there had been a court case, he did not rule out the possibility that there was "information in the local community which still has not been provided to detectives". |
| "This may be for a variety of reasons: people may not have had confidence in police all those years ago or they may have been frightened for other reasons," he added. | "This may be for a variety of reasons: people may not have had confidence in police all those years ago or they may have been frightened for other reasons," he added. |
| "I want to assure anyone with information that they can talk to detectives who will engage with them sensitively and professionally." | "I want to assure anyone with information that they can talk to detectives who will engage with them sensitively and professionally." |
| He made an appeal for anyone who saw a blue Metro car in the Scraghy Road area in the early hours of 14 August 1994 to come forward. | He made an appeal for anyone who saw a blue Metro car in the Scraghy Road area in the early hours of 14 August 1994 to come forward. |
| He also made a general appeal for information from anyone who saw Arlene or noticed any suspicious activity in the Castlederg area on the day of her disappearance. | He also made a general appeal for information from anyone who saw Arlene or noticed any suspicious activity in the Castlederg area on the day of her disappearance. |
| "We owe it to Arlene and to her family to do our utmost to bring her home and to bring her killer to justice," he said. | "We owe it to Arlene and to her family to do our utmost to bring her home and to bring her killer to justice," he said. |
| Police have opened a special telephone line for members of the public who want to provide information. The telephone number is 02871 379793. | |
| Arlene's sister Kathleen has said the whole family are hoping for a breakthrough. | Arlene's sister Kathleen has said the whole family are hoping for a breakthrough. |
| "Arlene is lying out there and it's not fair and all we want to do is bring her home and bury her and put her along with her mother and father and our other sister Mary who passed away in 2002," she said. | "Arlene is lying out there and it's not fair and all we want to do is bring her home and bury her and put her along with her mother and father and our other sister Mary who passed away in 2002," she said. |
| "Everybody is just praying and hoping this is it. It will be some let down if she's not found." | "Everybody is just praying and hoping this is it. It will be some let down if she's not found." |
| Police had been due to carry out searches for the missing teenager last January, but they were called off because of the severe weather conditions. | Police had been due to carry out searches for the missing teenager last January, but they were called off because of the severe weather conditions. |
| Robert Howard was acquitted of murdering Arlene in 2005. | Robert Howard was acquitted of murdering Arlene in 2005. |
| The trial jury did not know, at the time, that he was already serving a life sentence for murdering 14-year-old Hannah Williams, from south London. | The trial jury did not know, at the time, that he was already serving a life sentence for murdering 14-year-old Hannah Williams, from south London. |