IT has been more than a decade since the last confirmed sighting of Claudia Lawrence - despite police efforts to conduct extensive investigations and "thousands of statements".
The York chef was reported missing after she failed to turn up for a 6am shift at work at the University of York.
North Yorkshire Police believe Miss Lawrence – who was last seen on March 18 2009 – has been murdered, although no body has ever been discovered.
Detective Superintendent Wayne Fox, the new senior investigating officer on the case, said he believes several people know, or have suspicions about, what happened to the 35-year-old when she went missing in York in 2009.
On the anniversary of Miss Lawrence’s disappearance in 2021, Mr Fox urged anyone with information to “do the right thing” and speak to him.
Mr Fox, who took charge of the investigation in October following the retirement of Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn, said: “Today, on the 12th anniversary of her disappearance, our hearts go out to Claudia’s loved ones. They have endured unrelenting anguish and trauma throughout this time.
“In my view, there are likely to be several people out there who either know or have strong suspicions as to what happened to Claudia.
“For whatever reason, they have maintained a silence for 12 years. That is an awfully long time to carry such a burden of guilt. The longer you carry it, the greater the anguish you are causing to Claudia’s family and friends.
“Please do the right thing, come forward and speak to me.”
Claudia's father Peter Lawrence sadly died this February – without ever knowing what has happened to his daughter.
Peter Lawrence died on Thursday aged 74, in St Leonard’s Hospice, York following a short illness, his family said in a statement.
He previously said the decade of uncertainty since her disappearance had seen his family "destroyed from the inside", and called on anyone who was withholding information about his daughter to come forward.
His dedicated campaigning changed the lives of families in limbo after a loved one was reported missing.
Mr Lawrence was successful in his bid to create the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Bill, also known as Claudia’s Law, which was passed in April 2017.
Joan Lawrence, Claudia's mother, has previously told The Press she was "overwhelmed" in the run-up to the tenth anniversary of her disappearance, and she saw parallels between her daughter's disappearance and the search for missing teenager Libby Squires.
Claudia's friend, former housemate and neighbour Jen King told The Press how her life was turned upside down twice during the ten-year investigation - not just when Claudia disappeared, but when her partner was arrested six years into the investigation.
Martin Holleran, who served as a police officer for more than 30 years and now runs policing studies at York St John University, shared his personal and professional thoughts on the decade-long investigation with The Press.
To mark the tenth anniversary of her daughter's disappearance, Joan Lawrence shared never-before-seen childhood photos of Claudia and her family with The Press, which can be seen here.
Mike Laycock, now chief reporter with The Press, was working as news editor when Claudia disappeared, and looks back on his memories of that weekend.
Nicola Fifield was the weekend reporter when Claudia disappeared, and shared her thoughts on how she and The Press worked with the family and police on the coverage.
North Yorkshire Police say they will never give up on the search for Claudia Lawrence, and one call could solve the entire case and bring closure to her family.
The search for Claudia cost North Yorkshire Police more than £1m and actually involved two different investigations. Find out more here.
North Yorkshire Police say they still believe the individuals in these CCTV images could hold key information to revealing what happened to Claudia.
The investigation into Claudia's disappearance and suspected murder has now lasted for 12 years - here is a timeline of the news and events surrounding the search for Claudia, and here is an interactive map showing sites of interest during the search.
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