Yahoo News Laurel Aldridge: Everything we know about search for Mackenzie Crook's missing sister-in-law
The sister-in-law of actor Mackenzie Crook has been missing from her home in Walberton, West Sussex, since 14 February.
Police searching for the missing sister-in-law of actor Mackenzie Crook have issued new pictures of her seven days after she vanished.
It comes after Crook made a renewed appeal to find his sister-in-law Laurel Aldridge, 62, who disappeared on 14 February.
She went missing from her home in Walberton, in the Arundel area of West Sussex.
Police said on Tuesday they were continuing the search for Aldridge on private land.
Aldridge, who is Crook's wife's older sister, had been undergoing chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with cancer last year.
She missed her fifth chemotherapy session last Tuesday on the day she went missing.
Laurel Aldridge: Key updates
- Laurel Aldridge 'very vulnerable' after missing chemotherapy session (Sky News)
- Mackenzie Crook appeals for dashcam footage in hunt for missing sister-in-law (Yahoo News UK)
- Mackenzie Crook ‘clutching at straws’ to find missing sister-in-law Laurel Aldridge (The Independent)
- Missing cancer patient 'may have crossed busy road' (The Argus)
Who is Laurel Aldridge and when did she go missing?
Laurel Aldridge is a 62-year-old from Walberton, West Sussex, who went missing from her home on Tuesday 14 February.
She is the sister-in-law of actor Mackenzie Crook, who has made a number of appeals in the past few days to help find her.
Watch: Actor Mackenzie Crook makes appeal to find missing sister-in-law
Aldridge had been undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer last year.
She missed a scheduled chemotherapy appointment on the day she went missing.
Aldridge is described as being about 5ft 4in with grey/blonde highlighted hair. She sometimes wears glasses.
She was last seen wearing a turquoise fleece, a maroon tartan scarf and brown hat. She also had a grey puffer jacket with her which she is likely to have been wearing.
Her last known location was at the at Slindon Cricket Club, a 10-minute drive from Walberton.
On Tuesday there were two Sussex Police dog unit vehicles as well as another car with missing posters stuck to its rear windscreen parked at the club.
What has Mackenzie Crook said?
On Tuesday, Crook, known for his roles in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and in TV shows The Office, Detectorists and Worzel Gummidge, said his family are "clutching at straws" a week after Aldridge disappeared.
Crook said her disappearance had been "agonising" for the family.
Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain from Slindon cricket ground in West Sussex, where Aldridge was last seen, Crook said: “It’s a week now, it was this time last Tuesday that she left the house with nothing but the clothes she was wearing, no keys, money, phone, and she’s not been seen since.
“She was diagnosed with cancer last year and she missed her fifth chemo session last Tuesday and we think that’s what has triggered some sort of crisis in her and she’s gone off for a long walk somewhere.
"We are really clutching at straws now after a week.”
Crook said he has seen “nothing but determination and stoicism” from the family during the search.
“They’ve all gathered together and they are just driven to try and get Laurel back safely.
"At the moment everyone is containing their emotions, I’m sure the time will come for that later but right now everyone is very determined and driven.
“We’ve got a strong suspicion that she is in the local area but that’s just a hunch we’re going on. We can’t imagine that she has gone very far afield.
“We are in West Sussex on the South Downs, there are so many wooded areas, it’s quite overwhelming.
“We have been combing the woodlands for a week now, we can only think she has hopefully taken shelter in a back garden, in a shed, in an outhouse, that’s what we’re hoping.
“We are asking people to check all of those places in their garden even if they’ve done it before to go back and check again."
Crook said Sussex Police have been “brilliant” in their efforts to find his missing sister-in-law.
What have the police said?
Sussex Police has conducted house-to-house enquiries in the area, while search team officers have gone over a "significant" area with police dogs.
Police helicopters, drones and volunteer specialist search teams have also been deployed to find Aldridge.
The force said Aldridge may have crossed busy roads including the A27 and the A29 since she went missing.
Sussex Police chief superintendent Howard Hodges said: “We would like to thank the public for the information which has been provided to us thus far.
"Our officers have been working around the clock pursuing multiple lines of enquiry and are determined to find Laurel.
“We are working closely with Laurel’s family, offering them support and providing them with regular updates on the investigation. They too have also appealed for information to help find her, stating they just want to bring her home safely.
"As part of our appeal, we would be grateful if residents in the Walberton and Slindon areas could check their outbuildings for any sightings of Laurel and ask anyone to come forward who has any CCTV footage or dashcam footage of someone matching Laurel’s description and to report it to us.”
Drivers are asked to report to Sussex Police online or via 101 if there is someone who matches her description in their footage.
