A dog walker said she found a backpack belonging to missing chef Claudia Lawrence just days after she disappeared 16 years ago, a new podcast reveals.
Claudia was 35 when she vanished without a trace after failing to turn up to work at York University on March 19, 2009.
Despite an extensive investigation, her case remains a mystery and has become one of Britain’s most well-known unsolved missing person cases.
But the Answers for Claudia podcast has unearthed more details about her disappearance, including the discovery of a rucksack that was worn by Claudia when she went missing.
The podcasters interviewed a woman, called Bev, who claims to have found the purple and blue Karrimor bag resting next to a tree stump near the River Tees at Ingleby Barwick – around 40 miles from York.
The bag, which contained some sandwiches wrapped in foil, was found by Bev just days after the chef’s disappearance.
She initially left the rucksack alone but returned later to look for the bag after seeing DCI Lucy Pope mention it in a police press conference.
‘It wasn’t until I seen the newspaper article that I then went, that is the bag I found. I distinctively remember turning the newspaper over and seeing the bag, knowing that is the bag I found’, she said.
Claudia Lawrence (pictured) was 35 when she was reported missing after failing to turn up for work at York University on March 18, 2009
A dog walker has claimed they found a rucksack that was worn by Claudia when she went missing (pictured: DCI Lucy Pope holds a bag identical to the one carried by Claudia Lawrence)
But when Bev returned to the scene, the bag had gone.
In another part of the podcast, a van driver called Dave said he saw a woman about 20 miles away on the A1M near Wetherby the night before Claudia was last known to have gone to work. He recalled pulling over and calling the police.
When he saw the missing woman’s face on the news a few days later he said: ‘That’s the woman off the A1, that’s her.’
It comes as Claudia’s grieving mother told the podcast that there was a hidden loft in her daughter’s home that had never been searched.
Joan Lawrence, 81, said she had ‘absolutely no idea’ the secret loft existed until she visited recently with the podcast crew.
Although she wants the new area to be searched after the bombshell revelation, she initially said she doesn’t want police inside the property as she has ‘lost all faith and trust in them’.
But she has now agreed to meet officers and show them round the tiny opening into the roof.
She told The Mirror: ‘I am willing to hear what they have to say. But they have had 16 years to find answers.
Her mother Joan Lawrence (pictured) said her daughter’s home must be searched again after she discovered a hidden loft
Police officers outside the home of missing university chef Claudia Lawrence in Heworth, York
ITV’s television cameras were allowed inside Claudia’s home for daytime show This Morning
Her boxed belongings could be seen placed underneath the staircase
Claudia’s father, Peter (pictured together), died in 2021, never knowing what happened to his daughter
Following her disappearance police searched the inside of her York home for clues
After a search, authorities said they were unable to find any clues from the property
The search for Claudia was launched after her friend grew worried when she did not turn up at her local pub The Nag’s Head
In 2021, a search was carried out at Sand Hutton Gravel Pits, near York. The family were left heartbroken after it found ‘nothing of obvious significance’
‘The anniversary is coming up. This is so hard for me. It takes me right back to the beginning.’
Ms Lawrence would like an apology for the ‘first five years of the investigation’ and says it ‘breaks my heart’ every time she goes into her daughter’s house.
She had previously vowed to ‘never’ give North Yorkshire Police the keys to Claudia’s home saying the last time officers searched the property they left it a ‘mess’.
The search for Claudia was first launched after her friend grew worried when she did not turn up at her local pub The Nag’s Head.
Friends informed Claudia’s father Peter the next day when she still failed to answer any calls. Peter visited her home in the Heworth area of York to find she was nowhere to be seen.
Five weeks after she was reported as a missing person, the case was escalated to a suspected murder investigation – despite her body never being found.
What ensued was a search costing more than £1.5million, with hundreds of officers working to piece together what happened to the chef.
