POLICE launched a frantic search after a woman went missing from her home in North Yorkshire.

Maureen Tatterton, known to family and friends as Verna, failed to arrive at work on Friday, sparking fears among relatives and friends.

Her family were said by police to be “distraught” by her disappearance, and detectives launched an urgent appeal for help, before finding the 58-year-old safe and well in Scarborough on Saturday night.

Superintendent Simon Mason, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “I’d like to thank everyone who assisted the police in the search for Maureen, including the public and the media.

“We were very concerned for her safety as her disappearance was very out of character. Thankfully the search had a happy ending for all involved.”

Maureen, of Auster Bank in Tadcaster, had been seen by a relative at about 8.10am on Friday, heading away from where she would usually catch her bus to Wetherby, where she worked in a toy shop.

She never arrived for work, and police were called when relatives failed to hear from her.

The investigation into her disappearance carried on throughout Saturday night, and officers received information suggesting she could have been in the Scarborough area.

Officers from the York Safer Neighbourhood Team joined their Scarborough counterparts and, using local knowledge and information, searched local guest houses, hotels and holiday accommodation, before finding Maureen in a park in the town.