Search activity related to an historic murder case in Middlesbrough has concluded, with the investigation into the death of a teenager in 1998 continuing. Police and a specialist search team started work at a former allotment site near to Troon Close, Middlesbrough on Monday 18th June as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Donna Keogh from Middlesbrough in 1998 when she was just 17 years old. Donna has never been found and her disappearance is being treated as a murder investigation.

Today (Wednesday 25th July) police announced that the excavation work at Troon Close would conclude this week. During the course of the excavation a fragment of human jaw bone was recovered, however forensic testing (including DNA testing and radiocarbon dating) has confirmed that it is not related to the murder investigation and dates back to the early-medieval period.

Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Green said: “Donna’s family desperately want to give her a proper funeral and finally lay her body to rest, and finding Donna continues to be a priority for the investigation team.

“This has been a complex and thorough search conducted over a number of weeks and I would like to thank all those who have taken part for their efforts. This has not been easy work, especially given the temperatures our search teams have been working in, and they have demonstrated exceptional professionalism and dedication.

“The recovery of a bone fragment slowed the search considerably and has been the main reason the search activity lasted as long as it did. As well as our search teams, I would like to take local residents for supporting us over this extended length of time.

“Our search at Troon Close came about because our investigation identified it as an area of interest. Other areas of interest have also been identified where we will be conducting targeted searches in the coming months.”

To support the investigation, the public can visit www.finddonna.co.uk to view details about Donna’s life, her disappearance and the police’s on-going investigation.

A third week of activity will take place at Troon Close in Middlesbrough next week as search teams continue to work on an area of waste ground connected to a 20-year-old murder case. Police and a specialist search team started work at a former allotment site near to Troon Close on Monday 18th June as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Donna Keogh from Middlesbrough in 1998 when she was just 17 years old. Donna has never been found and her disappearance is being treated as a murder investigation.

Force spokesman Will Green said: “Due to the size and challenging nature of the site we will be continuing the excavation into next week and potentially for a number of weeks after that. We continue to update Donna’s family and remain grateful to local residents for their understanding and support.”

To support the investigation, the public can visit www.finddonna.co.uk to view details about Donna’s life, her disappearance and the police’s on-going investigation.

Search teams will continue to work on an area of waste ground in Middlesbrough this week (week commencing June 25th) as attempts continue to solve a 20-year-old murder case. Officers and a specialist search team started work at a former allotment site near to Troon Close on Monday 18th June as part of our investigation into the disappearance of Donna Keogh from Middlesbrough in 1998 when she was just 17 years old. Donna has never been found and her disappearance is being treated as a murder investigation.

Police spokesman Will Green said: “The search activity at Troon Close will continue into next week and we would like to thank local residents for their continued support.

“The duration of the search was always going to be dependent on a number of factors which could not be known until work began at the site and so we will continue into next week.”

To support the investigation, the public can visit www.finddonna.co.uk to view details about Donna’s life, her disappearance and the police’s on-going investigation.

An area of waste ground in Middlesbrough is being excavated as part of attempts to solve a 20-year-old murder case.

Police and a specialist search team started work at a former allotment site near to Troon Close, Middlesbrough today (Monday 18th June 2018) as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Donna Keogh from Middlesbrough in 1998 when she was just 17 years old.

Donna has never been found and her disappearance is being treated as a murder investigation. The investigation is being conducted by Cleveland Police’s Historic Investigations Unit which was established by a special grant from the Home Office earlier this year.

Detective Superintendent Michael Hunt, leading the investigation, said: “As part of our investigation we have reviewed a large amount of information, the review has identified areas of interest where we will be conducting targeted searches in an attempt to find Donna and discover what happened to her in 1998. Donna’s family desperately want to give her a proper funeral and finally lay her body to rest, finding Donna continues to be a priority for the investigation team”.

As part of this operation, neighbourhood officers will be delivering leaflets to local residents appealing for information and explaining the police activity they will see over the coming days. There is no set timetable for the excavation, it will be concluded once the site has been thoroughly examined.

To support the investigation, the public can visit www.finddonna.co.uk to view details about Donna’s life, her disappearance and the police’s on-going investigation.

A fresh campaign asking for the public’s help to solve the disappearance 20-years-ago of a missing Middlesbrough girl has received a major boost. Three weeks on from the launch of the re-investigation of the disappearance of Donna Keogh from Middlesbrough in 1998 when she was just 17, a dedicated #FindDonna website has been visited by several thousand people and a number of calls have come into police with information about the case.

Detective Superintendent Michael Hunt, leading the investigation, said: “More than 4,000 people have visited the #FindDonna website and many thousands more have shared our appeals on social media. 20-years on from her disappearance, the response from the people of Middlesbrough to our renewed investigation has been magnificent.

“As well as public interest we’ve also received a number of telephone calls, passing information on to officers about Donna’s disappearance. It is too early to say more, but we will fully investigate any information we receive and will act with the aim of finally understanding what happened to Donna.”

Donna has never been found and what began as a missing person enquiry in 1998 is now being conducted as a murder investigation.

The disappearance of Donna, as well the deaths of two other young women, now forms part of Cleveland Police’s Historic Investigations Unit (HIU), which was recently established by a special grant from the Home Office.

To support the investigation, visit www.finddonna.co.uk to view details about Donna’s life, her disappearance and the police’s ongoing investigation.

Twenty years ago a girl disappeared from Middlesbrough, traumatising her family and friends and tormenting them with questions which remain unanswered to this day. Donna Keogh was just 17-years-old when she disappeared from her home in Middlesbrough in 1998. Despite a number of investigations into her disappearance over the years, she has never been found, and what began as a missing person enquiry is now being conducted as a murder investigation.

The disappearance of Donna, as well the deaths of two other young women, now forms part of Cleveland Police’s Historic Investigations Unit, recently established by a special grant from the Home Office.

The strategic operational advisor Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Green said: “Donna was born in November 1980, the middle of three children. She enjoyed a happy childhood and was close to her family including cousins her own age. She had many friends both from school and her local estates and while at school she had dreams of following a family tradition in joining the military, showing a particular interest in the Navy.”

“At the time she went missing, which is believed to be sometime in mid-April 1998, Donna was living with her cousins at King House in Middlesbrough. A missing person enquiry was launched but the case has remained unresolved and is now being treated as a homicide. Donna’s body has never been found and we are appealing directly to anybody who knows where Donna is or knows what happened to her to help us now. We want to help give Donna’s family the answers and closure they so desperately seek.”

“Three generations of Donna’s family, from her parents to nieces and nephews who she never had the chance to meet still grieve her loss and 2018, the 20th anniversary of her disappearance, is a sad reminder for the family of the life that Donna could have had, but has devastatingly missed out on. We are appealing to the public to help end the nightmare which Donna’s friends and family continue to live with every day. We are appealing for help to find Donna.”

To support the investigation, a new Find Donna website has been launched at www.finddonna.co.uk with details about Donna’s life, her disappearance and the police’s ongoing investigation.

Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Green continued: “Someone knows what happened to Donna. Many more people will have vital information about her which could help her family and friends reach some sort of closure. It has been too long, 20 years is too long for a family to live like this, please help us find Donna.”

Funding has been secured to establish a specialist team to investigate several unsolved crimes on Teesside.

In 2017 Cleveland Police and Cleveland’s Police and Crime Commissioner applied for a special grant from the Home Office to fund the investigation of three separate historic cases. The cases involve the disappearance of three young women in Middlesbrough between 1998 and 2002. Two of the victims are known to have been murdered, while the third has never been found; this enquiry has also been declared a murder investigation.

“For that reason I am delighted we have been successful in a bid for £3.77m from the Home Office to fund an Historic Investigation Unit (HIU) which will focus on a range of specific cases which have been investigated before but remain unsolved. The central grant we have received means we will not need to divert funds from day-to-day policing or use money from the local precept, to pay for this important work.

“I set out in my Police and Crime Plan that I would work with Cleveland Police to secure the future of our communities, which are made stronger not just through current neighbourhood policing and partnership working but also through specialist teams such as this HIU. Although often not as visible to the public, such teams play a vital role and I welcome the Force’s determination and commitment to investigate these cases further.

“It may be there are people out there who have knowledge about these cases and have not yet come forward. Whatever the reason for that, I would urge them now to take the step of contacting the police, however trivial the information may seem it may be vital in building up the picture of what happened to these young women.”

Assistant Chief Constable Jason Harwin said: “The HIU will look into the deaths of Vicky Glass in 2000, Rachel Wilson in 2002 and the disappearance of Donna Keogh in 1998.

“There is commonality between the cases through the sex and ages of the victims and all being linked geographically to Middlesbrough. It is too early in the re-investigations to say if there are any other links.

“In our funding bid to the Home Office we made it clear that these are complex investigations that will require meticulous investigation over a number of years to complete. We will continue to work closely with the families of the three victims to keep them informed of developments and will also seek the ongoing support the public, and the media, as the investigations progress.”