South Wales Police have launched a murder investigation after a lack of leads for the location of Charlene Hobbs, 36 who went missing and was last seen in Cardiff in July 2024
Police have turned a missing persons search for a Cardiff woman into a murder investigation with Charlene Hobbs, 36, from Riverside, last seen in July 2024.
South Wales Police confirmed on Monday (March 17) that Charlene’s disappearance is now being treated as murder with the Crimestoppers charity also offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the potential perpetrators.
Charlene was last sighted in a photo taken on a mobile phone at a property in Adamsdown, in the south of Cardiff. Investigators have been growing increasingly sceptical on whether the 36-year-old woman is still alive, eventually launching the murder investigation after an absence of evidence to suggest otherwise.
A 45-year-old man was previously arrested in connection with the investigation and remains on police bail. A 43-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman have been released without charge.
“We have always been determined to find Charlene alive and return her to her family,” Detective Chief Inspector Matt Powell explained. “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.”
Before her disappearance, Charlene, who has a distinctive dragon tattoo on her back, was seen on CCTV in Morrisons Local, Adamsdown, on July 23, 2024. The last image of her, taken at the property in Adamsdown, was snapped the following day, at 6.07am, depicting Charlene with her hair was in a bun, wearing a dark strapless top.
Detective Chief Inspector Matt Powell shared that the authority’s investigation had heard from several interviewees that they suspected Charlene to be dead.
“Several of those we have spoken to believe that she has died but no one has been able to provide any specific details,” He added. “We are hoping that the Crimestoppers reward will help focus people’s minds. Charlene’s family continue to be updated, and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.”
Specialist search teams have been deployed, and continue to work, to find Charlene and explain the circumstances around why she has been missing.
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.”
Charlene’s family has said they are grateful for the reward offered for any information which might lead to an arrest.
The family said: “We have been updated by DCI Powell that this is now a murder investigation and that a Crimestoppers appeal has been made with a £20k reward. 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.”
Information on the Crimestoppers reward can be found here. Information and video footage such as from mobile phones, CCTV cameras, doorbells or dash-cams can be submitted to South Wales Police via this link.
