Claudia Lawrence

10:50am UK, Wednesday March 25, 2009

A friend of missing university chef Claudia Lawrence has said she was a "creature of habit" who would not just disappear.

Claudia Lawrence was last seen a week ago




Suzy Cooper made a television appeal for her friend to come home a week after Miss Lawrence was last seen as she left work at the University of York.

North Yorkshire Police believe Miss Lawrence, 35, disappeared on Thursday last week after she left her home on Heworth Road, York, at around 5.30am.

She was due to walk three miles to the university.

Detectives said they could not rule out the possibility that she had been abducted.

Search teams were looking through undergrowth in the area.

Speaking to ITV1's GMTV, Ms Cooper said Miss Lawrence's disappearance was "totally out of character".



Police search gardens near Claudia's home



She said: "Claudia's a very sociable and popular person. Everybody likes her and she likes everybody.

"She's a very sweet-natured girl and she's also a creature of habit.

"She's not someone that's spontaneous and would just flit off somewhere so the whole thing is totally out of character for her."

Appealing directly to her friend, Ms Cooper said: "Please come home and give us a hug.

"We all want to see you and if you're in a situation that's out of your control, then just get home somehow to be with your loved ones."

Miss Lawrence's father Peter, from near Malton, North Yorkshire, has walked part of his daughter's route to work, handing out posters appealing for the public's help to find her.

Miss Lawrence had been walking to work recently after her car broke down.


She's not someone that's spontaneous and would just flit off somewhere so the whole thing is totally out of character for her.

Suzy Cooper

She turned down her father's offer to use his car on the day she went missing, saying she preferred to walk in the good weather.

Her mother, Joan Lawrence, said she also turned down money to pay for a taxi.

Mrs Lawrence, 65, from Norton, North Yorkshire, said: "I was worried about her and offered her the money for a taxi after her Corsa broke down. But she wouldn't take it."

Police said she took no money, bank cards or passport with her and they could not rule out the possibility of "criminal activity".

Miss Lawrence is described as white, around 5ft 6ins and of slim build, with brown hair and brown eyes.

She was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, blue skinny jeans and white trainers.

Police are appealing for help to find the small blue or green rucksack which Miss Lawrence used to carry her chef's whites to work and was believed to have with her when she disappeared.

5:24pm UK, Wednesday March 25, 2009

Detectives believe missing chef Claudia Lawrence "has come to harm" at the hands of someone she knows.

Police say Claudia is unlikely to have got into a car with anyone she didn't know





Officers have revealed that she was a "prolific texter" but she had not sent a message for several days.

Detective Superintendent Ray Galloway, of North Yorkshire Police, said he believed the 35-year-old chef was with somebody she knew.

He was speaking a week after Miss Lawrence was last seen leaving work at the University of York.

Speaking to reporters close to the route between Miss Lawrence's home on Heworth Road and the university, DS Galloway said: "Seven days on, I am extremely concerned.


The focus is on people she knew. I believe that Claudia is with, or has been with, someone she knows.

Detective Superintendent Ray Galloway

"There's no reason to believe that Claudia has harmed herself or taken her own life. She was not depressed or suicidal.

"I have no reason to believe anything other than to believe she has probably come to harm."

DS Galloway said that as well as not sending any texts Miss Lawrence had not acknowledged Mother's Day.

"The focus is on people she knew. I believe that Claudia is with, or has been with, someone she knows."

Miss Lawrence was last seen on Wednesday last week at around 2pm when she left Goodricke College, where she worked as a chef.



A CCTV still showing Claudia Lawrence walking home





She was later spotted on CCTV footage as she walked the three-mile route to her home.

Miss Lawrence spoke to both of her parents on the telephone on Wednesday evening but has not been in contact since then.

She did not arrive at work on Thursday morning and later failed to keep an arrangement to meet a friend at her local pub, the Nags Head.

Police said she had no money, bank cards or passport with her.


News Radio

Very strange case. The last I read the Police were going along the lines that it was likely it was someone she knew that had taken or harmed her. So sad.

Its just on breaking news now that they have found a body of a woman in a river..

Harvesmom wrote:Its just on breaking news now that they have found a body of a woman in a river..

Has anybody heard anything recently about this case?
It really is a strange one!

Thank you eddie.
That doesn't sound too good.
She probably kept these relationships with married men a secret, especially from her parents. It will probably take the cops a while to sieve through all her relationships.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl ... 427998.stm

Archbishop's hope over Claudia

Dr Sentamu said he would continue to support young people in 2010

The Archbishop of York has told in his Christmas message how he hopes missing chef Claudia Lawrence will be found.

Dr John Sentamu told BBC News he also hoped 2010 would bring resolutions in the cases of missing Madeleine McCann and murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.

Miss Lawrence, 35, of York, was last seen nine months ago. Her disappearance is being treated as suspected murder.

The archbishop also praised the "wonderful" youth trust set up by his office this year to help young people.

Dr Sentamu added: "I hope news will come soon that Claudia has been found."

He added that he hoped for "a solution" in the case of Madeleine McCann, who vanished from an Algarve holiday flat in 2007, and that the possibility of new evidence about the murder of London teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993 could result in those responsible for the crime being "brought to book".

Dr Sentamu said he had enjoyed setting up the Archbishop of York Youth Trust, which helps motivate young people to be leaders in their communities.

He said: "I am going to continue to support a lot of young people and there will be a possibility of launching another trust, so just watch this space."

He added that a similar initiative was a possibility in 2010.

Interesting. He didn't say "abducted" and he didn't say "returned". He said he "hoped for a solution", in other words, he left his options open. Is this the new "official" line, I wonder?

I assume he is a clever Bishop.
With his very own opinions and thoughts.
I would like to know what the Pope thinks about Kate and Gerry McCann...
Anyhow they visited him.

A VERY uncharitable picture appeared in my head when I first heard the news, that a deranged woman had attacked the Pope! Did she have immaculate blonde highlights and a whining Scouse accent, by any chance?

The Famous Grouse wrote:A VERY uncharitable picture appeared in my head when I first heard the news, that a deranged woman had attacked the Pope! Did she have immaculate blonde highlights and a whining Scouse accent, by any chance?

The deranged woman is Swiss, but I know what you mean.

very cleverly worded by the Archbishop....didn't say 'hope she is found safe etc'

I like the bishops comment, very fair, not toeing theMcCann line for a change.

fred wrote:I like the bishops comment, very fair, not toeing theMcCann line for a change.

He used to toe the McCann line 100% until now. IMO you are right, it's a significant change.

Lilemor wrote:I assume he is a clever Bishop.
With his very own opinions and thoughts.
I would like to know what the Pope thinks about Kate and Gerry McCann...
Anyhow they visited him.

Both tarred with the same brush.


Kate and gerry mccann...visit the pope....catholic church...the same church that covered up child abuse...perhaps not the same pope but still the same church.

kitti wrote:

Lilemor wrote:I assume he is a clever Bishop.
With his very own opinions and thoughts.
I would like to know what the Pope thinks about Kate and Gerry McCann...
Anyhow they visited him.

Both tarred with the same brush.


Kate and gerry mccann...visit the pope....catholic church...the same church that covered up child abuse...perhaps not the same pope but still the same church.

Yes, the same church.

But not everybody in the church or every cleric is a bad human!
I don´t like to lump together.

There are excellent humans who work for our churches.

Covering up child abuse is a very ugly affair, that is true.
And imo it is unnatural for a man not to marry and have his wife (and children).
To live behind convent walls can advance homophily and sexual child abuse imho.
What I don´t underderstand is:
Why is a cleric not allowed to have a family like we "normals".
There is no excuse for child abuse!!!

fred wrote:I like the bishops comment, very fair, not toeing theMcCann line for a change.

I have met him a couple of times, and I must say he is a very very down to earth, humble man, with a wonderful personality and great sense of humour. He is a genuine christian, and, unusually in this day and age, is a church man who actually DOES have a deep and abiding belief in God. A lot of so-called christian leaders seem to only be in the church for the prestige it gives them, without any great belief in God. Sentamu is a refreshing change. A lovely man.

From what I have read re: his comments on the McCann case, I also get the impression that he is leaving his options open. He doesn't want to be seen to be accusing the dastardly duo, but at the same time he doesn't gush with sympathy for them either. I think he has suspicions like a lot of us, but from a christian point of view will not cast stones at them.

"Crimewatch" will be doing a reconstruction of Claudia's last movements tonight.

BBC1, 9:00 pm. (Should be on iPlayer later for those overseas).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/8535869.stm



New CCTV of missing York chef Claudia Lawrence released

The CCTV shows Miss Lawrence leaving her work and walking home

New CCTV footage of missing York chef Claudia Lawrence has been released by police as the first anniversary of her disappearance approaches.

The images show Miss Lawrence, 35, leaving her work at York University and walking home on 18 March 2009, the day she was last seen.

North Yorkshire Police have also issued CCTV of a car they want to trace.

Det Supt Ray Galloway will appeal for information on the BBC's Crimewatch programme on Thursday night.

Miss Lawrence's disappearance is being treated as suspected murder.

The footage contains the last-known images captured of Miss Lawrence alive.

Numerous appeals

She is seen leaving work about 1430 GMT on 18 March and walking to her home in Heworth.

The alarm was raised when the university chef failed to arrive for her work the following morning.

The investigation into her disappearance has included numerous appeals for information and an ongoing campaign by her father, Peter Lawrence.

Silver car
Police say the silver car was seen on Miss Lawrence's route to work

The footage of the silver car, dated 25 March, 2009, shows a silver vehicle being driven along Melrosegate in York.

The same car was also captured in the same location - the route Miss Lawrence walked to work - on 18 and 19 March.

Detectives want to identify the make and model of the vehicle to eliminate the driver and occupants to help with the investigation.

Det Supt Ray Galloway said: "Tonight's Crimewatch appeal sends a clear message to those involved in Claudia's disappearance that the investigation is still very much active and that we will not give up until we find out what has happened to her.

"Someone, somewhere knows exactly what happened to Claudia and we urge them to put an end to the distress of her family, do the right thing and come forward.

"We also appeal to anyone who thinks someone close to them may be responsible for her disappearance, to please come forward and contact the police or Crimestoppers."

Peter Lawrence, 63, who will also appear on the Crimewatch programme, has said he will not give up his campaign until his daughter is found.

He will mark the eve of her 36th birthday on 27 February by holding an awareness day in York on Friday.

• Crimewatch will be broadcast on BBC One at 2100 GMT on Thursday.

BREAKING: Claudia detectives search land near York University

Published Date: 24 March 2010

DETECTIVES investigating the disappearance of Claudia Lawrence are searching an area close to York University following 'new information'.
North Yorkshire Police said the operation in the Heslington area of the city is expected to last up to three days and followed information received over the past few days.

Miss Lawrence, 36, has been missing for her home in York for more than a year and police are treating her disappearance as a murder inquiry.

In a statement, the force said: "Police investigating the disappearance of Claudia Lawrence are conducting searches in an area of York known as 'The Outgang' which is in the Heslington area.

"The searches, which began on Tuesday March 23, are expected to take up to three days."

The spokesman added the search was not related to an appeal issued last week about Miss Lawrence's whereabouts on the evening of March 16 last year when she was said to have spent the night with a mystery date.

The York University chef was said by a friend and work colleague to have told him she was out with a boyfriend until at least 4.30am on March 17 last year – the day before she was last seen alive and only 90 minutes before she was due in work for an early morning shift.

On the eve of the first anniversary of her disappearance, it also emerged she had been having an affair for several months with a man who had a long-term partner at the time she vanished.

Police urged anyone with information about these two men to come forward to assist their inquiry.

Miss Lawrence was last seen on the afternoon of March 18 last year, walking near to her Heworth Road home after finishing work.

She spoke with family members and friends that evening but did not meet a friend for a pre-arranged drink and then failed to turn up to work at the University's Goodricke College the following morning.

Police upgraded the inquiry to a murder investigation the following month.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/BREAKING-Claudia-detectives-search-land.6178336.jp

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/8585832.stm

Page last updated at 13:08 GMT, Thursday, 25 March 2010


Family hope over new Claudia Lawrence search

Search teams have moved on to fields close to the university
A friend of the family of missing chef Claudia Lawrence says the latest police searches are "very encouraging".

Officers have been searching an area known as The Outgang in Heslington, York, since Tuesday and expect the operation to continue until Friday.

North Yorkshire Police said the search was the result of information received "in the last few days".

Martin Dales said: "It's amazing after a year this information seems to have only just come out."

Miss Lawrence, who was 35 when she went missing, was last seen leaving work at the University of York's Goodricke College on 18 March 2009.

False hopes

Mr Dales, a friend of Miss Lawrence's father Peter, said: "It's obviously very encouraging that the police are still physically searching as well as doing all the work they're doing in the backroom on the computers and interviewing people."

Mr Lawrence has campaigned regularly for help to find his daughter.

Mr Dales said: "All the time we're out there doing this the information is coming into the police so it makes what you're doing worthwhile, albeit incredibly hard to actually do particularly for Peter as Claudia's father.



Claudia Lawrence has not been seen since March 2009


"We had quite a lot of false hopes raised by searches and information, but it's all the information coming in that helps police to build up a picture and it could be one thing that somebody out there knows that could resolve this for everybody."

Land near to a children's play area, accessed by a muddy farm track, was searched on Wednesday.

On Thursday officers moved on to a field close to the university.

Police said no digging was taking place at the field, which is bordered by student accommodation and a playing field.

The searches are not connected to an appeal earlier this month in which detectives said they wanted to speak to a "mystery boyfriend" Miss Lawrence spent the night with two nights before she vanished.

The investigation is one of the largest ever carried out by North Yorkshire Police.

Miss Lawrence's disappearance is being treated as suspected murder.

No leads from Claudia Lawrence searches in York

Search teams scoured fields close to the University of York
Recent searches by police investigating the disappearance of missing chef Claudia Lawrence have not uncovered any significant leads, police said.

Detectives searched an area known as The Outgang in Heslington, York, for four days following new information on the case from a member of the public.

However, North Yorkshire Police said the searches were now over and nothing of any significance has been found.

Miss Lawrence, who was 35 when she went missing, has been gone for over a year.

Officers encouraged anyone with any information, no matter how small, to get in touch to try to solve the mystery of Miss Lawrence's disappearance.

She was last seen leaving the University of York's Goodricke College where she worked as a chef on 18 March 2009.

Her disappearance is being treated as suspected murder.

9:21am UK, Friday April 03, 2009

Gerard Tubb, North of England correspondent
The man behind the bogus Claudia Lawrence appeal website is a wealthy City trader who lives a secret life as an online wheeler-dealer.

Dutch-born Maichel Los has been unmasked in a Sky News Online investigation which found he tries to cash-in on musicians, sculptor Antony Gormley and even the 2012 Olympics.

Claudia Lawrence, a 35-year-old chef from York, went missing from home on March 18 and has not been seen since.

North Yorkshire Police fear she may have been abducted and have launched one of the biggest searches the county has ever seen.

Six days after she disappeared, Los registered claudialawrence.com and set up a website asking for donations for what he claimed was the official appeal for information about her.

The site went dead after police announced they were investigating.

"We strongly advise members of the public not to make donations," said a spokesman.

"North Yorkshire Police is making inquiries regarding the website."

Detectives say there is no appeal for cash and Claudia's distraught family have confirmed they do not want anyone to donate money.

It was thought the bogus website was established in Holland but our investigation shows Los set it up from his London base.

He created it with hidden 'HTML meta tags' - code designed to be picked up by search engines - including the words 'Claudia Lawrence', 'abducted', 'donate', 'officially' and 'official website'.

A 'donate' button on the homepage was linked directly to Los's own Paypal account in the name of 'mycharity'.

The site claimed the cash "will help keep the Find Claudia Lawrence appeal online", and urged people to give generously.

Los is a 39-year-old manager and trader at energy firm Spectron Futures of Grosvenor Place in central London.

He hides behind a string of aliases, including Norbert Van Vaalsen, Dries Coms and Los Bol but has registered some of his sites with his work address and even the company's phone number.

Another site used by Los to collect donations for his 'mycharity' Paypal account displays the Olympics logo - which is protected by an Act of Parliament.

This site claims to be a partner of the International Olympic Committee, while another claims incorrectly to be the copyright of Turner Prize-winning artist Antony Gormley.

While most of his website domains were registered using false names, the ownership of others was kept secret because he claimed to be a 'non-trading individual' and was granted anonymity by Nominet, the UK domain name registry.

When confronted with our evidence Los said he had done nothing wrong and was "trying to do something nice".

"I never said that I want money," he told Sky News. "It is absolutely not the case."

Los pledged to refund the money that had been donated but said he could not explain why he had claimed that he was hosting the official Claudia Lawrence website.

He said he used false names to avoid spam.

Following our investigation Los's online activities are being examined by the Charity Commission, Paypal, Nominet and the International Olympic Committee.

North Yorkshire Police have also asked to see the information uncovered by Sky News.

A spokesman for Los's employers said they were "shocked" by our findings and are conducting their own investigation.