8:46am Wednesday 17th March 2010
Timeline of the long search for missing chef Claudia Lawrence.
March 18: Claudia is last seen walking towards her home
March 19: Claudia fails to turn up for work at 6am and does not arrive at her local pub, the Nag’s Head in Heworth, in the evening
March 20: Friends are worried when they still can't contact Claudia and call her father. Police are alerted and searches around Claudia’s route to work begin
March 23: Claudia’s father, Peter Lawrence, makes his first emotional plea for public help in finding his daughter
March 25: Det Supt Ray Galloway reveals he believes Claudia has come to harm after meeting somebody she knows
March 26: The Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu, leads prayers for Claudia's return
April 16: Police appeal for help in investigating two significant leads, including a man and a woman seen arguing at the roadside near the University of York
April 17: Claudia’s family face an agonising wait for news after the body of a woman is found in the River Ouse. The body is later identified as that of missing grandmother,
Pauline Armitage
April 24: Police upgrade the investigation to suspected murder, as Crimestoppers offer a £10,000 reward for information. Police also reveal a major new line of inquiry – a possible
sighting of Claudia with a hooded man on Melrosegate bridge
April 29: As the search enters its sixth week, Claudia's mum, Joan Lawrence, breaks her silence
May 2: A new website is launched by Mr Lawrence, findclaudia.co.uk
May 5: Police release CCTV footage of a man acting suspiciously near Claudia’s home the morning she failed to turn up to work
June 2: Det Supt Galloway refers to Claudia’s “complex” and “mysterious” private life during an appeal on BBC’s Crimewatch
June 18: Police officers carry out an extensive search and remove items from the Nag’s Head pub
August 4: Police teams search two properties in York belonging to a man who died shortly after Claudia disappeared
September 19: A team of detectives flies out to Cyprus to speak to a number of men Claudia befriended during frequent holidays
September 25: Search teams scour the University of York’s biology department for clues in connection with a possible new lead
October 29: The Press reveals how a jogger raised concerns with the police about a van she repeatedly saw in Melrosegate prior to Claudia’s disappearance, whose driver tried to
talk to her and other women
November 11: A message claiming to be from Claudia is posted on Facebook. Family and friends say they believe it is a “sick hoax”
December 12: Peter Lawrence and Det Supt Galloway both read lessons at The Press’s Absent Friends carol service in St Denys’ Church, Walmgate
February 17: A teenager is arrested and cautioned by police for posting a bogus message on Facebook, claiming to be from Claudia
February 25: New CCTV footage showing the last recorded movements of Claudia is released by police prior to a fresh appeal on BBC’s Crimewatch
February 26: Family and friends hold an awareness event in St Sampson’s Square, York, to mark the eve of her 36th birthday
March 2: Police reveal they have discarded a potentially significant lead relating to a “location” in North Yorkshire, which emerged after the February appeal on Crimewatch
March 14: Well-known TV investigator Donal MacIntyre raises questions about the police inquiry into the missing chef.
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