Missing woman Laurel Aldridge’s son describes disappearance as a ‘nightmare’

The son of a missing 62-year-old woman from West Sussex has said her disappearance has been a “nightmare” that the family are “waiting to wake up from”.

Laurel Aldridge, whose bother-in-law is The Office star Mackenzie Crook, was last seen leaving her home in Walberton on 14 February.

Police have described the missing mother - who is currently receiving chemotherapy - as “very vulnerable”.

Her son Matthew Aldridge has now made a desperate appeal for people living nearby to check sheds, outbuildings and doorbell footage.

“It is terrible, it’s like a nightmare, in a way we’re waiting to wake up from it but we’ve got each other and we’ve received a lot of love and support from the wider community and that’s really helping us get through,” Mr Aldridge told the BBC.

“We’re continuing to look in the local woodlands and fields. She loved nature so we think that’s perhaps where she’s gone.”

Her son believes that receiving chemotherapy could be the reason behind her disappearance, which adds to the “urgency of the search”.

Earlier on Tuesday, actor Mackenzie Crook said her disappearance is “very out of character” and appealed to the public for help.

He told Good Morning Britain: “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.

“I’m here at Slindon cricket ground which was the last positive sighting we had of her and that was a week ago, since then, nothing.

“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.”

Ms Aldridge was last seen wearing a grey puffer jacket, a turquoise fleece, a maroon tartan scarf and a brown hat. She is around 5’4” with grey/blonde highlighted hair and sometimes wears glasses.

Sussex Police has conducted house-to-house enquiries and officers with dogs have been searching parts of West Sussex.

They have been joined by the NPAS helicopter, drones and the volunteer specialist Sussex search teams.

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.”

Information about Ms Aldridge’s whereabouts can be reported by calling 101, or dialling 999 if urgent.