POLICE are hoping to solve the mystery of what happened to a teenager who vanished without trace 20 years ago this week.

Donna Keogh was just 17 years old when she disappeared from her home in Middlesbrough in 1998.

Despite numerous investigations over the years, she has never been found, and what began as a missing persons inquiry is now being conducted as a murder investigation.

Her family is tormented by questions which remain unanswered to this day.

The disappearance of Donna, as well as the deaths of two other young women, now forms part of Cleveland Police’s Historic Investigations Unit, recently established by a special grant from the Home Office.

The strategic operational advisor Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Green said: “Donna was born in November 1980, the middle of three children.

“She had many friends both from school and her local estates and while at school she had dreams of following a family tradition in joining the military, showing a particular interest in the Navy.”

“At the time she went missing, which is believed to be sometime in mid-April 1998, Donna was living with her cousins at King House in Middlesbrough.

"A missing person enquiry was launched but the case has remained unresolved and is now being treated as a homicide.

"Donna’s body has never been found and we are appealing directly to anybody who knows where Donna is or knows what happened to her to help us now. We want to help give Donna’s family the answers and closure they so desperately seek.”

“Three generations of Donna’s family, from her parents to nieces and nephews who she never had the chance to meet still grieve her loss and 2018, the 20th anniversary of her disappearance, is a sad reminder for the family of the life that Donna could have had, but has devastatingly missed out on.

"We are appealing to the public to help end the nightmare which Donna’s friends and family continue to live with every day.

“Someone knows what happened to Donna. Many more people will have vital information about her which could help her family and friends reach some sort of closure.”

To support the investigation a new website www.finddonna.co.uk has been launched with details about her disappearance and the ongoing investigation