THE searches of an alleyway in connection with Claudia Lawrence's disappearance found "nothing of significance" but detectives are still pursuing a new lead, they have confirmed.

North Yorkshire Police's Major Crime Unit arranged the search behind the missing York chef's home on Wednesday, with specialist search officers, a sniffer dog, and house-to-house enquiries taking place in Heworth Road throughout the morning.

Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn, head of the MCU and and the senior investigating officer in the case, told The Press he believed people had lied to investigators in the past, and the search was "in respect of a new lead" and could provide new evidence almost six years after Claudia's disappearance.

He said: "We still don’t know if Claudia left for work on the morning of Thursday March 19, 2009, or whether something happened overnight within her house.

"If the latter is the case the person or persons responsible, in my view, would have used the rear alleyway as the front door leads onto a busy main road. This is why this specific piece of information needs to be fully investigated.

York Press:
Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn 

"What I am able to say today is that although nothing of significance was found during the search of the alleyway behind Claudia’s house, the investigation team are still progressing this lead which may still be significant.

"We are now taking the necessary time to evaluate the information we did obtain from our enquiries including information obtained during house to house enquiries, and review how it fits together with other information that we are looking at in fine detail."

Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should phone police on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org