Police release CCTV of Victoria Taylor at bus station amid search

by · Mail Online

Police said there is 'no evidence to suggest any form of third-party involvement' in the disappearance of Victoria Taylor as they released a new CCTV image of her at a bus station.

Victoria, who is engaged and has a two-year-old daughter, disappeared after leaving her home in Malton, North Yorkshire at around 9am on Monday September 30.

She was captured on CCTV at Malton Bus Station at 11.53am on the same day, police have now confirmed. Victoria was also sighted at a BP garage at 11.35am.

In the latest image, she is wearing a camouflage baseball cap, a rucksack and clutching what appears to be a bag. 

As the desperate attempts to locate Victoria enters its second week, authorities are now particularly focusing their search on the River Derwent, where her personal belongings were discovered by the riverbank.

Footage showed North Yorkshire Police searching along the stretch of river between Malton and Low Hutton with sonar technology and underwater cameras.

Police have released a new CCTV image of Victoria Taylor at Malton Bus Station on Railway Street, where she was sighted at 11.53am last Monday

Sonar equipment can potentially provide rescuers with extremely detailed images of waterways, with its acoustic beams reflecting of any objects found on the river bed and providing a vivid display of data to search teams on the surface. 

Inspector Martin Dennison from North Yorkshire Police said: 'This is an extremely difficult time for Victoria's family, and we are continuing to do all we can to try and find her.

'The focus of our search remains the area around the River Derwent and Victoria's family members are aware of this and the wider strategy that is in place.

'The family and the police understand the local community wanting to show their support with the searches for Victoria, but we urge people to exercise caution when searching particularly near to the river.'

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Police searching for missing Victoria Taylor recover fresh CCTV from bus station as sonar is used to scour river and friends vow 'we won't give up'

It has been used to great effect by other forces in recent times, with fisherman Thomas Stoddart located in just two days by Police Scotland using the technology last Christmas.

Underwater cameras can also greatly aid rescuers search attempts by providing clear imagery of what lies beneath the waters surface along the roughly three mile long stretch of river.

Furthermore, members of the North Yorkshire Police department  were observed searching the river in kayaks and motorized boats on Monday morning.

These renewed search efforts along the local waterways intensified  on Monday due to fears that rescue teams may see their attempts hindered in the coming days due to forecasts of heavy rain and a resulting rise in water levels.

In another potential boost to search attempts, North Yorkshire Police recovered fresh CCTV from a Malton bus station, which is believed to be more recent than the footage recovered from a local BP Garage.

The footage is said to show Victoria walking past the bus station on last Monday morning, in what are now her last known movements. 

North Yorkshire Police seen using sonar technology along the River Derwent as their search for Victoria Taylor continues
The high tech systems can provide a detailed picture of what lies beneath the water's surface to rescuers
Police could also be seen searching along the stretch of river between Malton and Low Hutton using kayaks

As authorities continue in their attempt to locate Victoria, a Facebook page set up by close friend Charlotte Cundill has now gained over 8,000 members.

Charlotte posted in the group, called 'The Search for Victoria Taylor', on Monday morning saying that she 'won't be giving up' on finding her 'beautiful' friend.

Another person posted in the group; 'I really cannot stop thinking about your beautiful friend. I know I don't know her personally like thousands of others, but she has really touched our hearts. I pray she is safe and found really soon for you all, sending love to you.'

Despite these heartening posts though, other social media users engaged in troll activity at the expense of Victoria's fiancé Matthew Williams, who is said to be 'devastated' by having the 'finger pointed at him' without any evidence.

In addition to local police's search attempts along the River Derwent, residents of Malton and friends of Victoria have been searching the small market town and putting missing posters up. 

The red posters can be seen all across the local community, including on the outside of St Leonard and St Mary Catholic Church in Malton - where it's believed she hoped to marry fiancé Matthew Williams.

Local residents of Malton and friends of Victoria have been placing missing posters around the small market village
Missing posters with Victoria's face can be seen around the local community, including along the banks of the River Derwent

Victoria's sisters Emma and Heidi said in a statement on Friday that her disappearance had left them 'distraught and lost.'

'We currently feel sick, distraught and lost following the disappearance of Vixx, but we are trying to focus on the children in the family to maintain a sense of routine at this difficult time,' the sisters added, before going on thank the emergency services and volunteers who continue to search for Victoria.

'We are eternally grateful for the support that they have given to us,' the statement concluded. 

Victoria, who is originally from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, is described as a white woman who is approximately 5ft six inches tall.

She was last spotted wearing blue jeans, a black Adidas original puffer jacket with white stripes down the sleeves and a grey Jack Wills hooded jumper.