A major update has been issued by police officers about part of the search for Victoria Taylor – as the mum has now been missing for 10 days.
The 34-year-old vanished from her family home on September 30. She was captured on CCTV as a bus station, less than 20 minutes after another camera captured her buying a bottle of juice in a shop.
And police officers probing her disappearance today revealed they have uncovered further CCTV footage of her on the day in question as they piece together her movements.
Speaking today, North Yorkshire Constabulary head of local policing, Chief Superintendent Fiona Willey, said: “In the last 24 hours, we have also recovered further CCTV footage which shows Victoria walking towards the play park on Riverside Walk at 12.30pm.
“Various items that belong to Victoria have been recovered from this location. Since receiving the initial report that Victoria is missing, we have made every effort to find her.
“Previous releases of information made by North Yorkshire Police highlight the scale of enquiries undertaken to date and I would like to reiterate that, based on current information, no indication of any form of third-party involvement has been established.
“This remains a missing person enquiry. As with any investigation, we remain open minded and will continue to explore all lines of enquiry.
“Based on the discovery of Victoria’s belongings so close to the water’s edge, we must accept the significant possibility that Victoria has entered the River Derwent.”
The Mirror reports Victoria, of Malton, North Yorkshire, left behind her fiancé Matthew and their two-year-old daughter before buying a drink at the M&S based at the local BP garage on Welham Road at 11.35am that day.
And then Victoria was captured on CCTV at 11.53am at Malton Bus Station on Railway Street. To date, this is the last confirmed sighting of Victoria.
The image shows her wearing a black Adidas puffer jacket with stripes down the sides, blue jeans, camouflage cap and pink/salmon Vans backpack. She is also carrying an unknown item which appears to be a bag.
Over the past 10 days, police have undertaken extensive enquiries in the search to find the mum-of-one. The investigation has involved the collection and review of CCTV footage and passive data research.
They have searched key areas of both land and water and interviewed several witnesses. Family friend Charlotte Cundill set up ‘The search for Victoria Taylor’ page on Facebook to give updates on the investigation.
In the latest post today, she said how much Victoria’s daughter and partner “needed” her. She wrote: “Her baby girl needs her mummy and her partner needs her kind heart back home safe and well.”
Charlotte also said that the search will not end until Victoria is found. She wrote: “Day 10, we miss you so much. I think it’s safe to say you have touched a lot of hearts within this town.
“We will not give up until we find you. Your [sic] an inspiration to a lot of people and it really does show. Please keep handing posters out, please keep searching (meet up point today is train station between 9 and 9:30) please keep hope. Please stay safe.”
And finally, for the volunteers who are helping to look for Victoria, she added: “Thank you for everything you have all done so far and continue to do. We appreciate you all so much.”
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter.