Gardai confirmed today that “searches are ongoing in the Glenfin area today”.
Numerous searches for her remains have been carried out previously.
The 15-year-old left Castlederg for Bundoran, Co Donegal, around 11pm on that date and never returned.
She was last spotted travelling in a car with convicted murderer and rapist Robert Howard.
The Arkinson family began looking for Arlene the morning after her night out.
Robert Howard’s girlfriend stood by his claim that he came home that night at 3am.
That was despite him being prosecuted for an attack in the town on a 16-year-old teenage girl.
And Howard had already been prosecuted over sex attacks on a girl aged six in England and a woman in Cork aged 60.
A Long Search for Answers
A coroner ruled in 2021 that Howard was responsible for Arlene's death.
Coroner Brian Sherrard told Omagh courthouse that “on the balance of probability” the 15-year-old, who vanished in 1994, fell victim to the dangerous sex offender.
Following a long-running inquest at Omagh courthouse, coroner Sherrard found that she died on the morning of Sunday August 14 1994.
He said: “There is no record of her being alive after that date.
“Robert Howard - a violent sexual offender and the last person to be seen with Arlene, in the early hours of August 14 1994 - was responsible for her death.”
He added: “The mechanism of death is unknown.”
Howard, originally from Laois, was charged for Arlene's death in 2002 but acquitted in 2005.
Tragically the whereabouts of Arlene’s body went to the grave with him when he died at the age of 71 in 2015.
A Family's Unending Search
A vigil was held in August in Castlefinn Park, Castlederg to mark the 30th anniversary of her disappearance.
A Vigil of Hope and Remembrance
A memorial plaque was unveiled and balloons were released in Arlene's memory.
Her sisters, Kathleen and Paula Arkinson, repeated their calls for a public inquiry into Arlene’s disappearance.
The missing schoolgirl’s case was featured in a TG4 documentary Marú inár Measc.
Arlene’s sister Kathleen told how she wished she “could’ve changed that night”.
She said: “I would have loved to have seen how her life would have ended up.
“She wouldn't have moved away from home now, definitely not.
“She could have been married, she could have had children.”
Kathleen added: “You often think to yourself, ‘is she close by?’
“You learn to live with that. All we want is the truth to take our pain away.
“We will never give up looking for her.”
Despite the years that have passed, Arlene's family remains hopeful that the truth will eventually surface. As they continue to search, the hope of bringing her home provides them with the strength to persevere.
