Discovery of new personal letter from Claudia Lawrence like 'hearing her own voice'

Never before seen letters penned by missing chef Claudia Lawrence that throw a colourful insight into her life and character in the years before she vanished, have been unearthed by a former best pal. Michaela, a close friend from Claudia's school days, kept a series of intimate letters the pair exchanged and today is first time Claudia's own words have ever been published. No video of one of Britain's highest profile missing person mysteries exist so the letters are the "closest the public have ever got" to hearing Claudia's own voice.

They were lovingly saved by Michaela with whom Claudia was close from the age of 13 until around 19 and she has now chosen to release in the hope of helping solve the 16-year-old case. The letters form the backdrop for the latest edition of the Answers For Claudia Podcast and are exclusively revealed here in in audio form for the first time by the Express.

Michaela said: "This is real life and this is someone that I was close to and that I shared very important years of my life with. I'm speaking for her, she's not here to speak. I don't know where she is, nobody does which is why this is so important that people are still talking about this. "

The friend says she had reservations about sharing the exchanges but after careful contemplation decided releasing them could potentially assist in helping keep the case relevant.

She said: "Claudia's not here in person so I felt a huge weight or responsibility because this isn't her voice, I have her voice in letters. I have my memories of her but I'm not her. But then I thought that's why it's important to share these letters and to share my memories of Claudia because in a way these words from the page are from her, and that's probably the closest thing we can get to hearing her voice.

"If it brings her to life and it colours in who this person was and it helps with the case and it makes her feel like a human being then yes I'll share them.

"I keep things that are personal and letters are very treasured things because it's the hand of the person who has written them to you at that moment in time. That's all we did with me and my friends at that point was write to each other."

Michaela says despite the pair drifting apart after she moved away from their hometown of Malton, near York, she has followed the case closely - not least because the disappearance anniversary is close to her own daughter's birthday.

But she says after listening to previous edition's of the hit podcast, which features Express' Crime editor Paul Jeeves, she was prompted to dig out one or two letters from Claudia that she remembered she had saved.

The letters throw fresh insight into Claudia's mindset at the time with her regularly referring to Michaela as "dude" - a popular expression among teens at the time due to the hit movie Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

They come after the senior officer investigating the disappearance announced they were set to revisit her home in person amid fears her killer might have broken into the empty property after a Daily Express revelation.

Det Supt Jon Sygrove replaced Ch SuptWayne Fox to head the long-running investigation in February - the same month we broke the news that a previously unknown loft hatch and other new evidence had been found in the missing chef's house.

Following the revelation Claudia's mother Joan Lawrence fears her daughter's home in Heworth, York, was broken into.

In one letter Claudia writes: "Hi dude, Clauds here. Sorry about the paper I couldn't find anything else."

In another she says: "Now then dude, happy 18th. I hope this got to you in time and I hope you are having a great day so far. You can have your present next time you come home. When are you coming back, dude?"

Michaela, who is now a singer/songwriter recalls how she "treasured" the "intimate" letters huge in which Claudia talks about horse riding, her sister's travels and their respective love lives.

The pair became friends after the then aspiring musician secured a place at All Saints School in York and spotted fellow pupil Claudia on the train from Malton.

She told the hit podcast: "The minute I saw Claudia I was just struck by how breathtakingly pretty she was. She stood out and I just thought, 'I have to be friends with you'. I ended up every day edging closer to where she used to stand and then I made the first comment - can't remember what it was - to make the introduction and then we got chatting."

She described her friend as "caring, funny, dry, quirky and eccentric" and "not a usual Malton lass"

She added: "I idolised her a bit and thought she was wonderful. I wanted to be her."

Michaela reveals how the pair attended a Radio One roadshow together on Scarborough beach in 1990 and how her friend attracted lots of attention from boys.

She said: "Claudia had this aura and this ability to turn heads. She just looked radiant, the sun was shining and it was summer. We were by the beach, there was music - that was the recipe for happiness. We couldn't move. We'd try to move forward and it would be another group of guys would be ' oh, you are so pretty' and I was like "yeah, she is."

Michaela says it is now imperative that police found out "where she is".

She added: "It's really upsetting that there is information out there and that somebody knows something."

Claudia was aged 35 when she vanished without a trace after failing to turn up to work at the University of York's Goodricke College on March 19, 2009.

Despite extensive international efforts no trace has ever been found and North Yorkshire Police say it is a murder investigation.

Claudia's father Peter, who died in 2021 aged 74, campaigned tirelessly to keep his youngest daughter's name alive and in the public consciousness. Her mother Joan is now carrying on the campaign.

North Yorkshire Police has conducted two major investigations and questioned nine people but no charges have been brought.

The last major operation in relation to the case was in 2021 when officers spent a number of days conducting an extensive search of flooded gravel pits at Sand Hutton, near York.

Police say the probe has been in a "reactive phase" since 2017 and insist that it remains an open investigation being reviewed by cold case teams.

The latest episode of Answers For Claudia Podcast is available on all major streaming services now.