By Sean Murphy
THIRTY-TWO years after her sister vanished, Kathleen Arkinson returned to the seaside town where 15-year-old Arlene was last known to be happy – and released yellow roses into the sea in her memory.
Arlene disappeared on August 14, 1994, after attending a disco in Bundoran the previous night.
For Kathleen, returning to the Donegal resort for the first time since her sister’s disappearance was an intensely emotional experience.
She brought balloons and yellow roses – Arlene’s favourite colour – as a floral tribute to mark the anniversary.
“I was thinking that Arlene was having fun but had no idea what was going to happen to her,” Kathleen told the Tyrone Herald.
“She was there and had no idea of what was about to happen to her.
“I got balloons for her and yellow roses. Yellow was Arlene’s favourite colour.”
Kathleen said she still thinks of Arlene every August 13, the night she attended the disco.
“Over the years, on the night of August 13, I always go into the garden. That was when Arlene was at the disco.
“It helps me. But it is sad, too. I think of her and I think of her laughing and dancing and enjoying herself.”
This year, however, Kathleen admitted she struggled with the emotions surrounding the anniversary and her planned return to Bundoran.
“I felt so sick. I had to go to bed early. I think it was nerves about going to Bundoran for the first time in 32 years.”
Child killer and rapist Robert Howard, who lived in Castlederg, was charged with Arlene’s murder in 2002 but acquitted in 2005. He died in prison in England in 2015 without confessing.
An inquest in 2021 concluded that Howard killed Arlene.
Garda searches for Arlene’s remains were carried out at Castlefin in May 2024 and Ballybobaneen Forest, near Glenfin, in September of that year.
Both locations are close to the Tyrone border.
Before travelling to Bundoran, Kathleen told the Tyrone Herald she believed Arlene’s remains were in the North.
“I know Arlene is not in Bundoran, I think she is buried in the North, but I am feeling drawn to it,” she said.
“Bundoran is the last place where I know Arlene was happy, so I have to go there.”
After releasing the roses into the sea, Kathleen had one simple response.
“I’m glad I did it.”
Kathleen Arkinson pictured on Friday with yellow balloons and flowers. Yellow was Arlene’s favourite colour.