£100,000 reward still on offer in Charlene Downes case 23 years after her disappearance

Lancashire Police have renewed their appeal for information in the case of Charlene Downes, with a £100,000 reward still available 23 years after the Blackpool teenager disappeared.

November 1 marked 23 years since the 14-year-old was last seen, and detectives say the investigation remains one of the largest and longest-running in the force’s history. Charlene, a former St George’s High School pupil, vanished on Saturday, November 1, 2003.

The case is Lancashire Police’s longest unsolved murder investigation and remains active. Over the past 23 years, officers say the inquiry has generated more than 16,000 police actions or lines of inquiry, with almost 7,000 statements taken and more than 7,500 exhibits recorded.

Police said they still want justice for Charlene and for her family, and urged anyone with information, however minor it may seem, to get in touch.

Charlene, who would now be 37, was last seen at the end of an alleyway on Abingdon Street after meeting a friend on North Pier. Detectives investigating the case believe she was sexually exploited and murdered. She is thought to have been caught up in a network of older men taking advantage of vulnerable young girls.

Her disappearance was initially treated as a missing person inquiry before being upgraded to a murder investigation in 2006. Despite two trials, including one retrial, no one has ever been convicted of her murder.

Lancashire Police was also investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in 2009. The IPCC concluded that the way evidence was gathered by police played a key part in the retrial’s collapse.

The case has remained in the public eye through documentaries, a Justice for Charlene campaign, an inquiry by a private investigator and the podcast Charlene: Somebody Knows Something by Blackpool-born broadcaster and actress Nicola Thorp.

Charlene’s mother, Karen Downes, has repeatedly appealed for information and has called for an investigation into grooming gangs in Blackpool. Speaking in 2023, she still hoped her daughter was alive and well.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: “November 1st marks 23 years since Charlene Downes disappeared in Blackpool and since that time our efforts to find out what happened to her have not stopped.

“Charlene was 14 years old and vulnerable when she went missing and the investigation into her disappearance and murder is one of the largest and longest running in the history of Lancashire Police.

“We still want justice for Charlene, and we want justice for Charlene’s parents and family and we would encourage anyone who has any information which could help us find out what happened to her to come forward, no matter how insignificant you think it may be.

“A £100,000 reward, sanctioned by Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw, remains on offer for anyone with information that leads to the prosecution of her killer(s) or assists in the recovery of Charlene’s body.

“Over the last 23 years, Lancashire Police’s inquiry into Charlene’s disappearance has generated more than 16,000 police actions or lines of inquiry.

“Almost 7000 statements have been taken and more than 7,500 exhibits recorded.

“If you can help please call us on 101 or contact independent charity Crimestoppers, free and in confidence, on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers.org.”