Watton: Man Arrested In Connection With Johanna Young's Death

24 April 2014, 10:29 | Updated: 24 April 2014, 10:54

A man in his 40s from the Watton area in Norfolk has been arrested today in connection with the death of Johanna Young more than 20 years ago.

The 14 year old hasn't been seen since she left her home at around 7:30pm on Wednesday 23 December 1992.

There were several sightings of her heading towards and walking around the Town Centre at Watton between 7.30pm and 8.45pm. After 8.45pm there were no further sightings of her and she didn't return home.

Johanna's parents didn't notice she hadn't returned home until her alarm went off at 6am the following morning and she didn't respond to it.

They assumed she had stayed at her boyfriend's for the night because it was really foggy. It wasn't until Johanna failed to turn up for her paper round at 7am that the matter was reported to the police.

Johanna's parents, Carol and Robert Young, recently made a fresh appeal for information on the 21st anniversary of her disappearance.

Mrs Young, 58, said: "We do celebrate Christmas but it's never quite the same.

"We tried to carry on for the sake of our other children, and as a family we just continue the best we can, but Johanna is in our thoughts all the time."

Mr Young, 60, described Johanna as "full of fun and always up to tricks".

The man arrested remains in custody and police inquiries continue.'

Original Investigation

Due to the unexplained nature of her disappearance, the case received a great deal of local publicity in an effort to find her.

On the afternoon of Saturday 26 December 1992, a member of public was walking his dogs in Griston Road, Watton when he found Johanna's training shoes in the undergrowth. He reported the find to Watton Police.

A search of the area started and later that evening they found the body of Johanna in a water filled marlpit.

The body was approximately 125-140 yards from where her training shoes had been found, Johanna's body was face down in the water and her lower clothing had been removed, her jeans missing.

Her body was covered in scratches and a subsequent post-mortem examination revealed that death was caused by drowning and a fractured skull.

A major investigation took place during 1993 and, despite a number of arrests of local men, nobody has been charged in connection with Johanna’s death.