CLAUDIA COPS’ NEW HUNT
12 years after chef’s disappearance, detectives swoop on flooded gravel pits just eight miles from her home
POLICE investigating the 2009 suspected murder of Claudia Lawrence yesterday started searching a wooded beauty spot eight miles from her home.
Their hunt is focusing on two flooded gravel pits, now used by anglers, at Sand Hutton, to the east of York.
The officer leading the inquiry, Detective Superintendent Wayne Fox, refused to comment on speculation they were searching for the body of the missing university chef. Police also did not say what prompted the fresh searches.
He said the operation was ‘one of several active lines of inquiry currently being pursued.’ It comes four years after North Yorkshire Police scaled down the inquiry into one of the country’s most high profile unsolved murders.
Following a major review police said they would only react to ‘compelling’ new evidence. Claudia, 35, was known to have returned home from work on Wednesday,
‘I’ve been waiting for closure’
March 18, 2009. She spoke to both her parents separately on the phone but was never heard from again.
Her father reported her missing to police on the Friday after a friend said she had failed to meet her in a pub near her home.
Despite a huge investigation, detectives drew a blank as to what had happened to her. Police believe she was murdered and senior officers have always said her disappearance was probably connected to her ‘complex’ personal life. She was single but known to have had many admirers.
Claudia’s father, Peter, died in February aged 74 and her mother Joan, 78, said yesterday she has no idea what prompted the latest search. She said: ‘I’ve been waiting for closure for a long time but I remain in the dark about what has sparked this investigation and it’s obviously a very distressing time.’
Det Supt Fox, head of the force’s major investigation team, refused to reveal what led police to the area around the gravel pits. There are two ponds which are popular fishing spots and these were being drained as part of the operation.
Det Supt Fox said: ‘The searches which have commenced today at Sand Hutton gravel pits are in relation to the disappearance and suspected murder of Claudia Lawrence more than 12 years ago.
‘I cannot say exactly how long these searches may take, however, it is likely that specialist officers and staff, including underwater search teams and forensic experts, will be here for a number of days.
‘While I am unable to disclose what has led us to this area, I must stress that the searches are just one of several active lines of inquiry currently being pursued by the Major Investigation Team in our efforts to establish what happened to Claudia and identify any person responsible for causing her harm.
‘Claudia’s family have been updated about this development in the case.’
Underwater search teams are looking for clues in the two ponds. Water is also being transported away by tanker.
Officers with sticks were also searching the woodland area around the gravel pits. Dozens of search officers and forensic experts moved on to the site without warning yesterday morning.
One local resident told the Mail they were visited by officers who claimed ‘hundreds of police from forces all over the country’ were involved in the search.
The local said: ‘The police arrived around 11am and started sealing off the woods and lake.
‘They were talking about dredging the lake. Last week there were two brand new white pick-up trucks and mini shipping containers next to the lake. There was also a couple of white inflatable dinghies, we assumed they were private contractors that were clearing out the lake, like they do from time to time, now it looks like they were looking for something or were with the police operation.The woods are quite dense and full of rhododendrons, they are quite overgrown at this time of year.’
A major ministry of agriculture biotech centre adjoins the search area which is close to the A64 York to Malton road.
The history of the suspected murder hunt has been one of failed potential breakthroughs.
Forensic searches of Claudia’s home in Heworth Road failed to reveal any clues to what happened
to her. In the early weeks police were keen to identify a man – dubbed ‘the left-handed smoker’ – who was seen with a woman on Melrosegate Bridge in York at 5.35am on March 19, 2009. A cold case review under a new team was launched in 2013 and this led to the arrest of five men aged in their 50s. No one was charged.
In 2017 police scaled down the investigation after spending £1million on it.
Claudia’s mother, Joan, said at the time: ‘I’m absolutely stunned. Words can’t express enough how upset I am.
‘As Claudia’s Mum, I will never give up trying to find my daughter and attempting to discover what has happened. As a parent, that is what I have to do.’