09 November 2023 , 08:40
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Claudia Lawrence's family say there may be new evidence that could shed light on the missing chef's disappearance.
The 35-year-old from York vanished in March 2009 after failing to show up to her job at the city's university one morning, with police believing she was murdered. Despite several arrests and possible leads over the past 14 years, what happened to her remains a mystery.
Now Claudia's mum Joan Lawrence has opened up about a potential new lead after a journalist and family friend was sent an anonymous email with information on the case. Mrs Lawrence spoke to Channel 5's Dan Walker for the show 'Vanished: The Search for Britain's Missing' in an episode which aired on Wednesday evening.
The 80-year-old believes the new evidence - the exact nature of which has not yet been revealed - is "real", but said she did not want to give too much away and potentially compromise the ongoing probe into Claudia's case.
Claudia vanished in 2009 (SWNS.com)Speaking to the programme, journalist and friend Peter Barron said: "Every morning her waking thought is what happened to Claudia. Every night, before she goes to sleep, her thought is what happened to Claudia. I remember working in my office one evening and this email popped into my inbox from somebody saying could I put them in touch with Joan because they had information that she needed to hear.
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"There was so much of this kind of thing that Joan must get sent and I didn't want to build her hopes up and I didn't want to disappoint her. And, about a week later I got another email saying please put me in touch with Joan because I know she will want to hear what I have got to say.
"The fact that they came back told me it was someone who is genuine. Joan very quickly came back after having spoken to the person for over and hour and said 'I think this is real'. They had some suspicions about somebody that they knew but up until this point it hadn't felt strong enough to come forward with this information.
"I felt that this was an active lead and Joan has gone on to have further conversations with that person saying I have got this suspicion and I really want you to know about it." At the end of Wednesday's episode it was revealed that the show had already had a number of calls with information claiming to relate to Claudia Lawrence.
Over the years, nine arrests have been made over Claudia's suspected murder, none of which have resulted in any charges. North Yorkshire Police have maintained over the years that the answer to her disappearance lies in the community where she was living in Heworth, York, at the time, and believe many people they have spoken to have lied.
Claudia's dad Peter Lawrence, who actively campaigned to keep the story alive, sadly died in 2021.