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Nationwide bid to track missing teen
THE image of a smiling Charlene Downes is to be displayed at every police station in the country.
The missing Blackpool teenager has not been seen for more than two months and is the subject of a massive police operation.
As her distraught mother waits at home praying for news, a team of 30 officers is searching for clues to explain the disappearance of the 14-year-old, from Buchanan Street, Blackpool.
Her mum Karen, said: "New Year's Eve this year was unbearable, and we have put Christmas on hold until Charlene comes home.
"I have found it really hard recently and was struggling to hold back the tears on December 31, but with a new year comes new hope and we are praying that Charlene will come back from wherever she is and turn up at home.
"I have saved her presents and they are still unopened. But I have had to take them to a friend's house, because to see them in an untouched pile is too much for me – it is too upsetting to look at."
The new poster which will be put up at police stations across the country has been produced in conjunction with the National Missing Persons Helpline.
It has a new picture of Charlene, taken after she had been to a show starring her idol, Darren Day, and features pictures and a description of the clothes she was wearing on the day she disappeared.
The poster is the latest in a number of moves made by police to track Charlene. Already the search has been extended to Greater Manchester and Wolverhampton, and her friends in both areas have been contacted.
Late last year, images of Charlene's clothing from the night she disappeared were released. But there have been no confirmed sightings of the 14-year-old since November 1.
The investigation into the teenager's disappearance is being led by one of Lancashire's top detectives, Det Supt Paul Buschini.
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Weather for Blackpool
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 30 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 30 mph
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