THE disappearance of a teenage girl in North Yorkshire has dumbfounded investigators for over 25 years.
Donna Marie Keogh was 17 when she was last seen visiting a property in Middlesbrough with a pal on April 19, 1998.
Donna, pictured here aged 16, was just 17 when she vanished in April 1998[/caption]
Cops believe Donna was murdered shortly after visiting a property in Middlesbrough but a body has never been found[/caption]
Donna was seen in the Hartington Road, Aske Road and Bow Street areas of Middlesbrough before she went missing[/caption]
Four men were said to be in the home that day.
But when her friend left the house on Bow Street to buy cigarettes, she never came back.
Donna – whose pal insisted was “safe” at the house – was reported missing a month after she vanished.
Cops believe she was murdered shortly after visiting the property but a body has never been found.
The first murder inquiry was launched in March 1999 when two men were arrested on suspicion of murder but no-one has ever been charged for her murder.
For 26 years, Donna’s parents Brian and Shirley have fought for justice for their daughter.
But repeated failings by Cleveland Police have left the couple at a total loss and with stacks of unanswered questions.
Speaking on the 25th anniversary of her daughter’s disappearance last year, Shirley told TeesideLive: “It doesn’t get easier – they say in time it does get easier but it doesn’t.
“We don’t know what’s happened to her, if we knew we could give her a resting place.
“We have never gotten on with our lives. Time has stood still with us.”
“Bubbly and ambitious” Donna was living in a flat in Middlesbrough with her cousin at the time of her disappearance.
She was known to keep in regular contact with her family and friends, which ceased in mid-April 1998.
The pal who was one of the last people to see the teenager alive insists “everything was okay” at the house and it wasn’t a house party.
“There was no seediness, no-one was arguing”, she told TeesideLive.
But Donna’s dad Brian says from the start they were told “sinister things had happened to Donna”.
Information was passed to cops about the people with Donna in Bow Street.
But leads, including one that Donna’s remains may be located in the Saltersgill Allotments area of the city, were not acted upon for years.
The police handling of the murder investigation led to an apology in 2015 but Shirley says it achieved nothing.
In 2016, following a review of the original police investigation, Cleveland Police a launched Operation Resolute in Donna’s murder.
The review established that around the time she went missing, Donna was seen in the Hartington Road, Aske Road and Bow Street areas.
Brian added: “We’ve had ongoing complaints for 18 years – there are numerous complaints involved in the murder enquiry.”
In 2018, crime scene investigators and other police personnel excavated Saltersgill, in the hope that Donna’s remains might be found.
In the same year a specialist police team was created to look at unsolved murders, including those of two other local women, Vicky Glass and Rachel Wilson.
Killer Keith Hall was eventually brought to justice in 2021 for the manslaughter of 19-year-old Rachel.
A report by the Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire Services noted “poor quality” investigations and failings in respect to the deaths of Donna, Vicky and Rachel.
The mutilated body of Vicky Glass, 21, was found in a stream in Danby, North Yorkshire, in 2000 but killer was never caught.
Donna’s mum Shirley said that Donna’s murder would likely have been solved had it been dealt with correctly at the beginning.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Taylor said “Operation Resolute is very much an active enquiry and a team of detectives are continuing to meticulously gather evidence and piece together the facts to try and find what happened to Donna.”
Information can be passed directly to the investigation team on 01642 302527, or via control room on 101.
In 2018, crime scene investigators and other police personnel excavated Saltersgill, in the hope that Donna’s remains might be found[/caption]
Donna – pictured here aged 11 – may have been murdered shortly after visiting a house with four men inside, police believe[/caption]
In 2016, following a review of the original police investigation, Cleveland Police a launched Operation Resolute in Donna’s murder[/caption]
Information was passed to cops about the people with Donna in Bow Street but leads, including one that Donna’s remains may be located in the Saltersgill Allotments area of the city, were not acted upon for years[/caption]
