York river search goes on for missing Rory

Rory Johnson was last seen in the city in the early hours of Friday morning and police fear he may have got into difficulty while walking near the river.

The operation is the latest in a series of major river searches in York, where a number of people have died in waterways in the last year.

North Yorkshire Police said Mr Johnson was last seen by his friend at 12.15am on Friday when he left the York Central Travelodge on Piccadilly. They had previously been in The Postern Gate Wetherspoon pub from around 11.30pm on Thursday.

Mr Johnson did not return to the hotel and failed to arrive at work in Skipton, where he lives, on Friday evening.

A police spokesman said Mr Johnson’s mobile phone is off and he has not been in contact with his family, which is said to be out of character.

The spokesman said: “Extensive police inquiries are ongoing to trace Rory and to establish his movements on Thursday evening and into the early hours of Friday morning.

“One line of inquiry is that Rory may have got into difficulty while walking near the River Ouse in the City Mills and Skeldergate Bridge area after midnight.”

The search operation being carried out by Humberside Police Underwater Search Unit and the York Rescue Boat comes after the deaths of student Megan Roberts, shop worker Ben Chapman and soldier Tyler Pearson, who all died in York rivers last year.

More than 13,000 people have joined a Facebook group to help find Mr Johnson.