No breakthrough in search for missing woman Lucy Charles

There has been no breakthrough in the search for missing Lucy Charles, who disappeared in North Wales in December.

This Friday, 12 January, will mark three weeks since the 39-year-old went missing. She was last seen days before Christmas last year in Bangor-on-Dee, a village in Wrexham county borough. Last week, North Wales Police renewed their appeal for information and said they were getting ‘increasingly concerned’ for her safety and whereabouts since items belonging to her were found were found along a riverbank.

Chief Inspector Stephen Roberts, of North Wales Police ,said “extensive searches” led to the discovery of personal items along the bank of the River Dee close to the Severn Trent Water Treatment Works.

When Charles went missing, she was wearing a bright hi-vis vest with a navy padded coat underneath, khaki-coloured leggings and black boots. She has been described as being approximately 5ft 6in tall, with shoulder-length brown hair and glasses.

She was last seen captured on CCTV walking along a street past the Royal Oak pub on Station Road in Wrexham at 5.34 pm on 22 December, 2023. The police are asking anyone who may have seen Charles to get in touch, even if they aren’t certain.

Last week, Chief Inspector Roberts said: “It has been a particularly difficult time for Lucy’s family, especially given that we just had the Festive period.”

Police have been working together with mountain rescue teams, the fire service and the police helicopter to look for Charles. They have also deployed a police underwater search team and have carried out their search despite challenging weather conditions. The police said they had looked from Bangor on Dee to Chester.

Police have thanked the members of the public for their assistance and have requested people stay away from the River Dee as it "is in a very dangerous state of flooding".