Charlene Downs was just 14 years old when she went missing 14 years ago this week. Her parents Karen and Bob have now published a book detailing the horror of what they have been through. They were not able to have a funeral for their daughter as they couldn’t find the body and have a service to remember her on the anniversary of when she went missing.

Two local takeaway workers stood trial for Charlene’s murder in May 2007, but were not convicted.
According to the prosecution Charlene’s body had been cut up and minced into kebabs in a Blackpool takeaway.

Karen spoke to the Manchester Evening News saying:

When Charlene went missing it was horrendous. I kept on thinking she would turn up, that she was just pushing the boundaries and testing my patience. I never for a moment believed I would never see her again, that she had been lured into a gang and groomed for sex.

Looking back though, the clues were there and I just didn’t see them – now I want other mothers to learn from my tragedy.

When Madeleine McCann went missing it made global headlines overnight. Of course I feel dreadfully sorry for her parents.

But was my daughter not worth the same? I can’t help feeling we were side-lined because we are uneducated and working class.

In the end, I was so despairing of the lack of interest in Charlene that I had my own leaflets printed and I handed them out myself, on the streets of Blackpool, night after night. Sometimes it felt as though I was the only one looking for her.

She’d always been a very affectionate, loving little girl. But she’d started to get cheeky and moody, misbehaving

I was sure it was no more than a teenage phase. All part of growing up. I was sure it would pass and she’d soon be back to her normal self. I was tormented with nightmares. Every time there was a body found, I was sick with fear.”

After the trial Mrs Downes said:

It was horrific to listen to. As a mother, it almost broke me. There were reports that Charlene had been groomed and drawn into the sex trade, which broke my heart.

My daughter wasn’t here to speak up for herself so it seemed people could say just what they liked. But when I looked back, there were occasions when Charlene had skipped school and I didn’t know where she had been.

She once came home with £70 and we couldn’t get the truth out of her. We didn’t know where it had come from.

She had cigarettes too and we didn’t know who was buying them for her. Now, it was all slotting into place.

Deep down I have to accept that my darling daughter is dead, but without a body, I will always have a glimmer of hope. I will never stop fighting for the truth.

If anything positive can come from this, I would like to help other families. I want other mothers to be aware of the signs of grooming – to spot them and act on them – before it is too late.”

Convicted paedophile Nigel Lloyd, 51, is serving five years in prison for indecently assaulting two girls and has also been questioned about her murder. The parents of Charlene are no nearer to justice in a case that exposes once again how many poor working class girls are going missing and being murdered.

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