Peter Lawrence dies 12 years on from his daughter's disappearance, a case which has haunted her family

Peter Lawrence, the father of Claudia Lawrence, who went missing in York in 2009, is pictured reflecting on 2,000 days without his daughter in 2014. Mr Lawrence lit a candle for his daughter in the Chapel of Paulinus of York and Hilda of Whitby at Bishopthorpe Palace on the outskirts of York. (Picture: James Hardisty.)

The disappearance of Claudia Lawrence has haunted her family and friends since she was last seen in March 2009, and the case has captured headlines throughout the intervening years.

While there was a blaze of publicity at the time that the University of York chef went missing, the fact that it still remains a case that is imbedded in the public’s psyche is in no small part down to the tireless campaigning of Peter Lawrence to find out what happened to his daughter.

But with the announcement today that Mr Lawrence died aged 74 in St Leonard’s Hospice in York on Thursday last week after a short illness, for him, at least, the mystery of her disappearance will never be resolved.

Peter Lawrence is pictured with his daughter, Claudia, in the Nags Head pub, which is close to where she lived in the Heworth district of York. (Picture: SWNS).

A family statement which has been released by Mr Lawrence’s close friend, Martin Dales, has highlighted the conflict which he faced to continuously engage with the media while remaining a deeply private person.

Mr Dales, who lives in Old Malton in North Yorkshire and has acted as Mr Lawrence’s spokesman since his daughter vanished, said: “He will be sorely missed by his family and friends who request privacy at this sad time and there will be no further comments from the family.

“It is sad that nearly 12 years after Claudia’s disappearance from York Peter never found out what has happened to her.

“He was a very private person thrust into the full glare of the media and despite a tireless campaign to find her, he also selflessly devoted himself to helping others with missing relatives through the charity, Missing People.”

In the early years of the North Yorkshire Police investigation to find Miss Lawrence, her family and friends were unstinting in their belief that she was alive and they would be reunited with her.

She was last seen on March 18, 2009, walking near her home in Heworth in York. Miss Lawrence, who was 35 when she disappeared, never turned up for work the next morning.

In an interview with The Yorkshire Post to mark the 10th anniversary of his daughter’s disappearance, Mr Lawrence admitted for the first time publicly that he feared she was dead and he would never see her again.

He said: “There was always some doubts privately, but now I have to admit that I may never see Claudia again. It is hard to say that, and I have never told anyone that before. But I have to come to terms with it, as it may very well be the truth.”

Mr Lawrence, who has another daughter, Ali, and was separated from his ex-wife, Joan, campaigned for the introduction of what has become known as Claudia’s Law - which allows families of people missing for more than 90 days to deal with their legal and financial affairs.

Mr Lawrence received an OBE after he was named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2018 for his work in founding the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Bill.

Previously, the disappearance of a person did not affect the ownership or control of their property and financial affairs. Claudia’s Law enables a relevant individual to be named as a guardian by a court 90 days after a person has gone missing.

Mr Lawrence moved to York nine-and-half years ago from Slingsby, near Malton. The decision was in part to keep a check on his daughter’s terraced house, which Mr Lawrence refused to sell, in Heworth, but also to pursue a love of singing which he had nurtured since the age of seven.

He was a member of the York Musical Society, and worshipped at the city’s Minster. Mr Lawrence also found comfort singing with the Missing People Choir, who got to the final of the Britain’s Got Talent television show in 2017.

He retired in 2018 from his profession as a solicitor, finishing his career at the law firm, Ware and Kay, which is based in Peasholme Green in York.

A little over a month after Claudia Lawrence vanished, detectives confirmed the inquiry had been escalated to a murder investigation rather than simply a search for a missing person.

More than 2,100 statements were taken in the first six months of the investigation, 200 searches conducted and 3,070 lines of inquiry pursued.

Detectives admitted in the early stages that evidence pointed towards Miss Lawrence having a private life described as “mysterious and complex”, prompting speculation that her disappearance was linked to someone she knew.

Nine people were arrested or interviewed under caution, and North Yorkshire Police submitted files to the Crown Prosecution Service in 2015 in relation to four men who were detained.

But there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against those arrested and no-one has been brought to justice.

In January 2017, North Yorkshire Police announced the inquiry had moved to a “reactive phase”, and the £1m investigation has since been scaled back unless any major leads are forthcoming.