Police launch murder investigation for missing mother
Charlene Hobbs when she was younger Photo cred: South Wales Polce
South Wales Police have launched a murder investigation for a mother who has been missing since last July.
Charlene Hobbs, 36, was last seen in Adamsdown on 24 July when a photograph of her taken at a property in Broadway at 6:07am.
Police are now treating Charlene’s disappearance as murder after speaking to more than 250 people for information on her whereabouts.
Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.
Charlene's family has issued the following statement: "We still hope that Charlene can be found safe and well.
"We are grateful for the support of Crimestoppers and the reward to help us find her, and hope that this will help people to come forward with information about what has happened to Charlene."
Murder investigation as “no proof that Charlene is alive”
The day before Charlene was last seen - 24 July - she was seen on CCTV in Morrisons Local, Adamsdown with her hair in a bun and wearing a dark strapless top. She also has a distinctive dragon tattoo visible on her back.
South Wales Police have been searching for Charlene over the last seven months - asking people in the community to look for her and by conducting wider searches by specialist teams.
In February, the force released further CCTV of Charlene to help in their search.
Police have been searching for Charlene since July last year Photo cred: South Wales Police
A 45-year-old man arrested in connection with the investigation remains on police bail.
A 43-year-old man and 38-year-old woman have been released without charge.
Detective Chief Inspector Matt Powell, from South Wales Police, said: “We have always been determined to find Charlene alive and return her to her family, but despite a huge number of enquiries we have no proof that Charlene is alive. We are now investigating her disappearance as murder.
"While I have always maintained an open mind, the lack of evidence that Charlene is alive means that we are now treating her disappearance as a murder investigation.
“We have spoken to more than 250 people, either known to Charlene or from areas where she is known to frequent, and no-one can tell us where Charlene is or that she is alive, which of course we, her family and friends desperately want to hear.
“Several of those we have spoken to believe that she has died but no-one has been able to provide any specific details. We are hoping that the Crimestoppers reward will help focus people’s minds.”
DCI Powell added that Charlene’s family “continue” to be updated and that “our thoughts are with them at this difficult time”.
DCI Powell continued: “I still firmly believe that answers lie in the community, and that someone out there holds key information that will help us find Charlene.
“I urge anyone with information, no matter how insignificant they think it may be, to please contact South Wales Police or Crimestoppers.”
Information and video footage such as from mobile phones, CCTV cameras, doorbells or dash-cams can be submitted to South Wales Police using this link.
Or on the following:
Live Chat https://www.south-wales.police.uk
Call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
Information on the Crimestoppers reward can be found here.
