Fresh appeal for answers on 12th anniversary of Claudia Lawrence disappearance

The York chef was reported missing on March 18 2009.
Missing chef Claudia Lawrence
PA Media
John Besley17 March 2021

A fresh call for information has been issued to mark the 12th anniversary of the disappearance of chef Claudia Lawrence

Miss Lawrence was reported missing on March 18 2009 after she failed to turn up for a 6am shift at work at the University of York

Police believe the then-35-year-old from York was murdered, but her body has never been found.

Despite the exhaustive efforts of (Claudia's) late father Peter, family, friends and North Yorkshire Police, there are still no answers and it is tragic that Peter has died not knowing what has happened to her

Martin Dales

Miss Lawrence’s father Peter spent years campaigning for the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Bill, also known as Claudia’s Law, which allows relatives to take control of their missing loved ones’ financial matters.

The law was passed in April 2017 and came into force in 2019, however Mr Lawrence died last month without ever knowing what happened to his daughter.

Now on the eve of the 12th anniversary of Miss Lawrence’s disappearance, Martin Dales, a friend of Mr Lawrence, has again called on anyone with information to come forward.

Mr Dales said in a statement: “Despite the exhaustive efforts of (Claudia’s) late father Peter, family, friends and North Yorkshire Police there are still no answers and it is tragic that Peter has died not knowing what has happened to her.

“More to the point in the light of there being no one brought to justice in the 12 years, there are still one or more people ‘at large’ in York or maybe somewhere else now who do know what has happened to Claudia and where she is and potentially remain a threat to the communities in which they and we live.”

Peter Lawrence
PA Wire

Police previously said they “strongly suspect key and vital information” which would offer a breakthrough in the case of Claudia’s disappearance is being “withheld”.

Nine people have been questioned as part of the investigation, but no charges have ever been brought.

Jo Youle, chief executive of the charity Missing People – which Mr Lawrence worked closely with in campaigning for Claudia’s Law – echoed Mr Dales’s appeal for information.

She said: “It is now 12 years since Claudia Lawrence disappeared from York. Our thoughts are with Claudia’s family and loved ones as they mark another anniversary that no family wants to go through.

“The search for Claudia continues and anyone who may have information regarding her disappearance can call or text the charity Missing People confidentially, and for free, on 116 000 or online at www.missingpeople.org.uk/sightings.”

Sarah Everard tribute
PA Wire

Mr Dales also paid tribute to Sarah Everard the 33-year-old marketing executive who went missing while walking home from a friend’s flat in south London on March 3. Her body was found hidden in an area of woodland in Ashford, Kent, on March 10.

He said: “All our thoughts and condolences go to her family at this time of great tragedy and with the general public in their support of the Everards, which was so evident also when Claudia went missing in 2009.

“If Peter were still with us he would have said this as, although he was often sad and depressed by Claudia’s absence, he was eternally grateful for the support of people in York, the UK and various parts of the world too.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in