Donna Keogh

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

cleveland-police

Missing From:

Middlesbrough, England

Summary:

Donna Keogh was a British teenage girl who disappeared in Middlesbrough, England on 28 April 1998. She was born on 29 November 1980 and was living with her cousins at King House, Middlesbrough at the time of her disappearance. It is strongly suspected that she was murdered sometime close to the time she went missing. To date, Donna's body has not been located and her family remain desperate for answers.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Donna left the flat she shared with her cousin in Central Mews, Middlesbrough, at about 11pm on Saturday, April 18, 1998. The 17-year-old was last seen in the early hours of the next day at a house party on Bow Street in Middlesbrough. A police review of evidence established that on the day she disappeared she was reported seen in the Hartington Road, Aske Road and Bow Street areas of Middlesbrough. One sighting reported she entered a red hatchback vehicle on Hartington Road. A missing person enquiry was initiated at the end of May when her concerned family were unable to contact her. Keogh was known to have travelled to Leeds in 1998. She was reportedly sighted visiting the Chapeltown area of the city.

Additional Details:

Donna had departed her family home in Saltersgill just months before she vanished and had been residing with a cousin in Central Mews. Her parents became aware their daughter had become involved with drugs just before her disappearance. She had also reportedly been involved in prostitution. In March 1999, two individuals were detained on suspicion of murder, however nobody has ever faced charges. The force has previously acknowledged that errors were made during the original police investigation into Donna's death and issued a public apology. In 2016, following an independent review of the original police investigation, Cleveland Police launched Operation Resolute, a newly formed enquiry committed to establishing exactly happened to Donna. The enquiry has formally been declared a murder investigation with a dedicated team of experienced detectives committed to bringing those responsible for her murder to justice. Among complaints made against the force by Donna Keogh's family were allegations that statements had been lost and crucial witnesses and potential suspects were not interviewed by detectives. In 2018, police dug up an allotment on Teesside and found human remains but forensic testing revealed them to date back to medieval times. A 64-year-old man from the Leeds area was arrested early on 31st March 2026 on suspicion of murder and remained in police custody. Donna's father Brian passed away in July last year following a tireless campaign for answers regarding what happened to his daughter.

Case Last Updated:

Jun 19, 2026