Police are investigating a reported break-in at the home of missing York woman Claudia Lawrence.
North Yorkshire Police officers were called to Claudia’s home in Heworth on Saturday, September 6 following reports that it had been entered, with several of the missing chef’s belongings moved.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police told The Press: “We received information on Friday that a house in Heworth appeared to have been entered, and items moved around.
“A police forensic investigator attended the property early on Saturday morning.”
Claudia Lawrence has been missing for 16 years.
Her disappearance was reported to police after she failed to show for her 6am shift at the University of York’s Goodricke College, where she worked as a chef, on March 19, 2009.
The last confirmed report of Claudia’s whereabouts was recorded at 8.23pm on March 18, when she sent a text message.
The following day, alarms were raised when the 35-year-old failed to show up for a social engagement at her local pub, The Nag’s Head.
Her Heworth home was searched by investigators, who noted that everything appeared as if Claudia had left her home for work that morning, and concluded that something had happened to her on her walk to work shortly before 6am.
In the years that followed, no trace of Claudia has been found by police.
Her treasured cottage home in Heworth Road has been left frozen in time – preserved in the hope that she may one day return.
Despite this, Claudia’s mum Joan said that the home has been the subject of three break-ins this year – the latter involving the displacement of three music tapes and Claudia’s underwear.
In a report published by The Mirror, a raffle ticket was also alleged to have been found on the home’s kitchen floor – something which raised the alarm and prompted Claudia's mum, Joan Lawrence, and an accompanying member of the Answers for Claudia podcast team to call the police.
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A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police confirmed that enquiries into the incident were ongoing.
Speaking On March 18, 16 years after Claudia was reported missing, Detective Chief Inspector Jon Sygrove told The Press: "It is never too late to come forward.
"Whilst the inquiry has been in a ‘reactive phase’ since 2017, to be clear, the investigation is not closed.
"If a specific line of enquiry is developed from receipt of new information, and grows in significance, we will take decisive action, as we did when extensively searching the gravel pits at Sand Hutton in August 2021.
"Every new piece of information is carefully assessed against the significant volumes of material that has been gathered over the full course of the investigation.
"North Yorkshire Police will never give up on the search for the truth. Next to Claudia’s family, there is no-one who wants justice for her loved ones more than North Yorkshire Police.
"If you know something that could help us find Claudia, or those involved in her disappearance and suspected murder, I urge you to come forward now."
How to help
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should make a report via the North Yorkshire Police website or by calling 101 and pass details to the Force Control Room.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through their Anonymous Online Form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information cannot be traced or recorded, and you will not go to court. Please quote “Claudia Lawrence” when providing details.
The appeal for information is also available on the Major Incident Public Portal.
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