Police have warned members of the public not to make donations to a website purporting to help find missing university chef Claudia Lawrence.
The site asks for donations to the "Claudia Lawrence Appeal", but North Yorkshire Police and the family of the missing chef have had no involvement in the website.
A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: "We strongly advise members of the public not to make donations. North Yorkshire Police is making inquiries regarding the website."
Miss Lawrence, 35, was last seen 12 days ago near her home on Heworth Road, in York, and police fear she has come to harm after meeting up with someone she knows.
A close friend of Miss Lawrence made an emotional appeal for anyone with any information about the popular chef to get in touch with the police.
Liz Holder, 28, made the appeal in the Spotted Cow pub in Malton where Miss Lawrence would often visit to catch up with friends and enjoy a drink. Miss Lawrence lived in Malton for 31 years before moving to York.
Miss Holder, who met Miss Lawrence 12 years ago when they worked together in another Malton pub, broke down in tears as she described the mental turmoil she was enduring.
She said: "I am constantly worrying. What the family must be going through I don't know. It's been horrendous. It is a constant worry not knowing what has happened to her. It has been a nightmare.
"If anyone has got any information about her, however trivial they think it maybe, please get in touch. Claudia is such a sweet, gentle person. She would not harm anyone."
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Miss Holder, who works in a pharmacy in Malton, recalled how she exchanged texts with her friend shortly before she was reported missing 12 days ago. "She said she was getting up early for work. I said she shouldn't be walking and she said don't worry, she said it was sunny and it would keep her fit. With hindsight she should have got a lift or a taxi. She seemed normal."
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