THERE are many unanswered questions surrounding missing mum Victoria Taylor after police found a body yesterday.
The 34-year-old nurse disappeared from her home in Malton, North Yorkshire, at around 9am on September 30.
North Yorkshire PoliceVictoria Taylor went missing on September 30[/caption]
SWNSPolice teams using sonar equipment on the River Derwent[/caption]
FacebookVictoria’s fiancé Matthew Williams shared a touching photograph of the pair[/caption]
Police launched a huge search for bride-to-be Victoria after her personal belongings were found close to the River Derwent.
And she was captured on CCTV on two occasions later the same morning at a BP garage and a bus stop.
But little has been revealed about her exact movements or where she ‘d been heading and why.
Officers on Tuesday revealed a body was found by underwater search teams at around 11.45am close to where her possessions were found.
Formal identification has not yet taken place but Victoria’s “distressed” family have been told about the tragic development.
Facebook group ‘The search for Victoria Taylor’ was set up by school friend and next door neighbour Charlotte Cundill, and currently has more than 10,000 members.
In a post today, Charlotte, 30, said “everyone is grieving, everyone needs a little space to breath”.
At midday, members – who put up missing person posters and have searched the area around where Victoria went missing on a daily basis – were due to hold a vigil at the site of the discovery at midday.
A GoFundMe page, also launched by Charlotte, had raised more than £2,600 as of Wednesday morning.
She wrote: “I’d love to be able to raise some money together to support Vixx’s partner and family in paying for her funeral and having some money set aside for her partner and little girl.”
Here are the unanswered questions surrounding the case.
WHERE WAS SHE GOING?
Victoria – who was mum to a two-year-old old girl with fiancé Matthew Williams – is understood to have been seen heading towards a library on Commercial Street in Malton.
She was then captured at 11.35am on CCTV at the petrol garage in Welham Road – around half a mile away – wearing a baseball cap, jeans and a puffa jacket.
The mum was seen on another camera as she passed Malton bus station and a children’s play park at 11.53am.
Her last sighting was at 12.30pm as she walked towards a play park before heading to a path along the river.
Friends have suggested – despite her more glamorous appearance on nights out – her outfit choice was more typical of her in day-to-day life.
North Yorkshire PoliceVictoria was seen in a petrol station at 11.35pm after vanishing from home[/caption]
Her last sighting was at 11.53am on September 30
SWNSCops scouring the river in canoes[/caption]
WHAT WAS IN HER BAG?
Victoria was described as last seen with a pink Vans backpack, but in the CCTV she is also seen clutching a carrier bag close to her chest.
The garage she had stopped at had an M&S shop, and it appears to be one of their long lasting bags for life.
It’s been suggested she bought drinks at the shop before continuing her walk towards the river.
The Daily Mail reports claims she had bought a bottle of Dr Pepper and a bottle of water at the garage.
Former Met Police detective Peter Bleksley previously told The Sun whatever was inside is “clearly something of significance to her”.
“It’s not like somebody carrying a shopping bag normally in their hands by their sides.
“It’s something she’s clutching almost as if you were holding a newborn baby.”
Friends have since suggested that perhaps the handles had broken and she was clutching it tightly due to rain.
WHY WERE HER BELONGINGS DISCARDED?
Victoria’s belongings were quickly discovered near the river’s edge after she was reported missing, leading police to focus their search on the water.
Head of Local Policing, Chief Superintendent Fiona Willey, said at the time: “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.”
She added: “Various items that belonged to Victoria have been recovered from this location.”
However, it has never been confirmed exactly which possessions were found – and it is not clear why they were left there.
There is some suggestion her backpack and cap were among the items discarded, and not hidden, while empty drinks bottles were also nearby the spot of the river where she was found.
FULL POLICE STATEMENT ON BODY DISCOVERY
Officers on Tuesday revealed a body was found by underwater search teams at around 11.45am close to where her possessions were found.
Formal identification has not yet taken place but Victoria’s “distressed” family have been told about the tragic development.
Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox said: “The disappearance of Victoria has understandably had a wider impact on the communities of Norton and Malton.
“Victoria’s family and those closest to her have understandably felt enormous amount of heartache since the day she was reported missing, and they’ve previously acknowledged just how grateful they are to the local community for the overwhelming level of support that they have had as a family.
“Whilst today’s outcome is not what anybody would wish for, Victoria’s family have again asked me to express their thanks to all of those who’ve supported North Yorkshire Police and other emergency services in our efforts to locate Victoria.
“They’ve also asked me to ask for time and space for them as a family to come to terms with the information, the news that they’ve been provided with today.
“And our thoughts remain very much with them at this time.”
FacebookVictoria is mum to a two-year-old daughter[/caption]
FacebookA body was found in the search on Tuesday[/caption]
Facebook/@Charlotte CundillFriends have launched a crowdfunding campaign[/caption]