£10,000 reward offered in hunt for missing York chef Claudia Lawrence

Crimestoppers representatives said the charity had taken the unusual step to offer the enhanced reward because of the public interest in the case.

Miss Lawrence, 35, was last seen by colleagues at the University of York’s Goodricke College on Wednesday, March 18.

Police have received more than 900 phone calls and taken 868 statements and reports. A total of 270 properties and 1,000 student rooms on the University of York campus have now been searched in the hunt for the 35-year-old chef.

Today, Crimestoppers have put forward a £10,000 reward in the hope someone has potentially vital information.

Dave Hunter, Crimestoppers regional manager for the North-East and North Yorkshire area, said: “Crimestoppers has put in an enhanced reward of £10,000 for information relating to this case.

“It is quite unusual because at this moment in time, no crime has been committed. However, it is such a big issue and the public have been captivated by the case. From a Crimestoppers point of view, we hope this will generate specific information relating to Claudia which we can help police with their inquiries.”

Mr Hunter added: “Hopefully, somebody out there knows something. If for whatever reason they feel they cannot talk to police, they can certainly talk to us in absolute confidence.”

The hunt for Miss Lawrence is the biggest investigation North Yorkshire Police has conducted since the search for multiple killer Mark Hobson five years ago.

Yesterday, police carried out another fingertip search near Miss Lawrence’s route to work.

About seven officers on their hands and knees scoured the undergrowth near the cycle track that runs parallel to Fifth Avenue, at its junction with Melrosegate.

They were seen putting items in a plastic bag, as they systematically combed the area.

Meanwhile, the detective leading the investigation was due to give an update on the inquiry at a press conference at Fulford Road Police Station this morning. Claudia’s solicitor father, Peter Lawrence, will also be present to make another appeal for information.

Martin Dales, a friend and spokesman for Mr Lawrence, has appealed to students returning to York after the Easter holidays to cast their minds back to March 18 and 19.

He said: “It’s not just students at the University of York that we need to get the message to, it’s also students at York St John University, because Claudia’s house in Heworth Road is surrounded by student accommodation for York St John students.

“I'm liaising with the police to get a message on the university's intranet because I think it's really important that these students try to remember if they saw Claudia or anything suspicious in the area.”

The search was launched after Miss Lawrence failed to turn up for her 6am shift at the University of York’s Roger Kirk Centre the day after she was last seen. Miss Lawrence has not been in touch with friends or family since 8.23pm on March 19 when she sent a text to a friend arranging to meet later in the week.

Detectives originally treated her disappearance as a missing person’s inquiry. However, police believe she may have come to harm after meeting someone she knew.

North Yorkshire Police can be contacted on 0845 6060247 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Crimestoppers offers a sliding scale of rewards depending on the severity of the case.

The last time the charity had offered a £10,000 reward in the region was last August after Chinese couple Xi Zhou and Zhen Xing Yang, were found mutilated in their ground-floor flat in Croydon Road, Newcastle.