THE SEARCH FOR a missing Co Tyrone schoolgirl, who police believe was abducted and murdered 17 years ago, is to resume.

Arlene Arkinson, 15, went missing after going to a disco in Bundoran, Co Donegal, with friends in 1994. Extensive searches were carried out following her disappearance but no trace of her was ever found.

Arkinson was last seen getting into a car owned by convicted rapist and murder Robert Howard, the BBC reports.

Howard, now 77, was charged with Arkinson’s murder but acquitted in 2005, UTV reports. It later emerged that Howard’s 40-year history of violent sexual assault had been withheld from the jury – including that fact that he was serving a life sentence for the abduction, rape and murder of 14-year-old Hannah Williams, whose body was discovered in a cement works in 2002.

Howard had been convicted of Williams’ murder after the jury was presented with evidence that included the testimony from another teenager, also from Castlederg, who claimed that Howard had held her captive for three days and repeatedly raped her, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

The Arkinson family are seeking a review into both the RUC’s handling of the case and Howard’s acquittal, according to the BBC.

A police spokeswoman told journalists that investigations into Arkinson’s murder were continuing: “We intend to mount further searches in the coming months,” she added.