Fresh Clues Emerge About Claudia Lawrence’s Disappearance Night

Claudia Lawrence vanished in March 2009. She was 35. She failed to report to York University for work. A dog walker made a claim that she found a backpack that may belong to the missing chef. She claimed to have found it soon after she went missing.

Detectives think Claudia was murdered, but her body remains missing. Her case is a high-profile, unsolved crime. A new podcast is examining the case; it’s called “Answers for Claudia.” It aims to give her mother answers.

The hosts spoke to a woman called Bev, who found a rucksack near the River Tees in Ingleby Barwick, about 40 miles from York. It was purple and blue and was next to a tree.

Bev found foil-wrapped sandwiches inside the bag days after Claudia disappeared. Bev initially left the bag alone, but then she saw DCI Lucy Pope in the news.

The police wanted information about a bag, so Bev then remembered the rucksack she saw and she thought it was Claudia’s bag. But when she returned, the bag had disappeared.

A van driver, Dave, was also interviewed. He recognized Claudia from a TV appeal. He had seen a woman on the A1 near Wetherby, about 20 miles away, the night before she last worked.

Claudia’s mother, Joan, revealed something new: a hidden loft in Claudia’s home was never searched. She had no idea it existed. Joan didn’t want the police to search initially because she said she lost faith in them, but she agreed to a meeting later.

Police have investigated but no charges were brought, though they questioned nine people. Joan says they had 16 years to find answers. The anniversary of the disappearance is approaching, and it’s hard for her, she said.