Claudia police halt search of farmland

Detectives launched the four-day operation following a tip-off from the public last weekend.

Specialist search teams of officers combed an area of land known as The Outgang in Heslington, which is about a mile from where Miss Lawrence worked at York University.

Last night North Yorkshire Police said the operation had been brought to an end and "nothing of significance had been located". Officers said they were still encouraging members of the public to come forward with any new information about her disappearance "no matter how insignificant".

Last night Martin Dales, a friend of Miss Lawrence's father Peter, said they had been encouraged by the latest police search even though it had not turned up any new information.

"It is encouraging to know that the police are investigating in

whatever areas they need to go down. They did what they felt they

needed to do and we are glad they did go down there.

"The key message is that the people should still keep coming forward with information even if at this stage it might seem a long time since Claudia went missing.

"Even if that information might not seem important, it is for the police to be the judge of its significance."

The new information which triggered the searches was the latest in a series of new leads over recent weeks which have marked the passage of a year since Miss Lawrence's disappearance.

One of the biggest developments in the inquiry emerged last week when detectives revealed Miss Lawrence, 36, had told a friend she had been going out with a mystery boyfriend until the early hours of March 17 last year – the day before she was last seen.