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Claudia Lawrence breakthrough explained

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2 September 2021

By Michaela Makusha

Fresh information in the case of missing person Claudia Lawrence has been discovered as North Yorkshire Police are searching a popular fishing spot.

The case of Ms Lawrence has been widely reported for the twelve years she has been missing. But what exactly are the circumstances in which she disappeared? We take a look in this piece.

Claudia was a 35-year-old chef at the University of York. On Thursday, 19 March 2009, she was supposed to turn up at Goodricke College for her shift at 6am but failed to appear.

When phoned, she didn’t pick up and later that day, did not attend a meeting with her friend at a pub she often frequented, The Nag’s Head. Her father called the police to report her missing the next morning.

Police have treated Ms Lawrence’s disappearance as murder. The original investigation drew up a number of possibilities, such as her leaving the country with a boyfriend, or being killed by a crazed individual.

Recently, the investigation has began searching in a popular fishing spot in York, saying that they had received “new information” in relation to the chef’s disappearance.

claudia-lawrence-search

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In 2016, the Crown Prosecution Service refused to pursue a case submitted by North Yorkshire Police against four men who had been arrested on suspicion of murder, citing lack of evidence.

The suspects had all been regular punters at The Nag’s Head, and all denied any involvement in Lawrence’s disappearance.

In 2019, ten years after Claudia’s disappearance, Claudia’s Law was passed after extensive campaigning by her father Peter. The law enables families of loved ones who have gone missing to legally deal with the property and financial affairs of the missing person much quicker than previous.

Before the law was passed, family members had to wait seven years before a presumption of death was confirmed.

Claudia’s father, unfortunately, died February this year, never knowing what happened to his youngest daughter, whilst her mother Joan is still carrying on the fight to find their daughter.

Hopefully, this new search will finally provide some answers as to what happened to Claudia Lawrence.

If you have any information regarding Claudia Lawrence’s disappearance in 2009, click here to see how you can contact police. You are also able to contact them anonymously.

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