Detectives have issued a plea on the 15th anniversary of the disappearance and suspected murder of University of York chef Claudia Lawrence for those with information to break their silence.
Claudia Lawrence vanished from her home in York on March 18, 2009, after finishing a shift at work. But despite two separate inquiries, and a comprehensive review which involved hundreds of police personnel and national experts, what happened to the 35-year-old remains a mystery and the case has become one of the best-known unsolved crimes of recent decades.
A leading North Yorkshire Police detective today marked the poignant occasion with a personal insight, reflection and support for Claudia’s family and insists the ‘cold case’ inquiry is not closed.
Acting Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox, of North Yorkshire Police said silence was the "single barrier" to finding answers and urged people with information to “do the right thing and make a report” to end the pain and suffering for Claudia’s loved ones.
Claudia Lawrence has been missing since march 18, 2009
PA
“Having been appointed senior investigating officer in October 2020, I am fully aware of the complexities that exist in this inquiry, which sadly has to be treated as that of a suspected murder,” he said.
“However, the single barrier to unlocking the answers for Claudia’s loved-ones and bringing those responsible for her disappearance to justice, remains the same – silence. Silence from the people who know, or may suspect, what happened to Claudia but have, so far, for reasons that are only known to them, been unable to come forward to the police or even pass on information to Crimestoppers anonymously."
“There may be many reasons as to why they have been unable to come forward; however, my plea to them on reaching 15 years of living with the knowledge you have is to do the right thing and make a report. You can help bring an end to the pain and uncertainty for Claudia, her mum and all who love her.”
North Yorkshire Police conducted two investigations and questioned nine people, but no charges have ever been brought. The last major operation in the relation to the case was in 2021, when officers spent a number of days conducting an extensive search of flooded gravel pits at Sand Hutton, near Stamford Bridge.
The investigation has been in a “reactive phase” since 2017, according to Acting Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox, who added: “I again want to make it clear that the investigation is not closed. Even after such a passage of time, our Cold Case Review Unit continues to receive information. Every new piece of information is carefully assessed against the significant volumes of material that has been gathered over the full course of the investigation.”
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No charges have ever been brought against people who were questioned following her disappearance
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He said the scale of the search operation in 2021 “clearly demonstrates that, if information is capable of being effectively developed, North Yorkshire Police will work tirelessly in our continued search for the truth”. He added: “Speaking purely as a parent, my thoughts as we enter the 15th year since Claudia Lawrence was reported missing, remain with her mum Joan.
“I cannot begin to understand the pain that Joan and her family feel every single day. For such pain and despair to continue for 15 years without knowing where your child is, or what happened to them, well that is far beyond what any mum or dad should ever have to live with. Joan has lived with unending uncertainty and trauma since the last conversation she had with Claudia on the telephone on the evening of March 18, 2009.”
Acting Assistant Chief Constable said he was also thinking of Ms Lawrence’s late father Peter, who campaigned for his daughter to be found, but died three years ago without ever finding out what had happened to her. Ms Lawrence was 35 when she went missing and would have celebrated her 50th birthday in February.
“That she has been denied the opportunity of fulfilling her potential and living life in a way that made her happy, be that in career aspiration, travelling the world or the possibility of raising children, is tragic in the extreme,” he said.
“Let us not forget that Claudia’s family and closest friends have also been denied the opportunity of living and sharing these types of momentous moments with her. That is equally sad and can surely only magnify the pain that they continue to feel 15 years on.”
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should make a report via the North Yorkshire Police website or by calling 101
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The last confirmed sighting of Ms Lawrence was at about 3pm on the day she disappeared. She was heading home after finishing her shift as a chef at the University of York’s Roger Kirk Centre at Goodricke College. The chef spoke with family and friends that evening but did not turn up for work the following morning.
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should make a report via the North Yorkshire Police website or by calling 101, select option 4, and pass details to the Force Control Room.
Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through their Anonymous Online Form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information cannot be traced or recorded, and you will not go to court. Please quote “Claudia Lawrence” when providing details.
The appeal for information is also available on the Major Incident Public Portal.