Victoria Taylor: Family of missing Malton woman 'still have hope'

The family of a young mother who has been missing for two weeks say they "continue to have hope" she will be found.

Victoria Taylor, who has a two-year-old daughter, was last seen on the morning of Monday 30 September heading towards a riverside playground in Malton, North Yorkshire.

A major search operation has been underway to find the 34-year-old, who is known as "Vixx". Police say there is a "significant possibility" that she went into the River Derwent.

Her sisters Emma and Heidi said in a statement: "There are no words for us to describe how we are feeling as it's ever-changing.

"We continue to have hope, as it is all we have at this time."

Miss Taylor, a nurse at a nursing home, was last seen at home at 9am on 30 September.

She was then visited a petrol station and was later seen on CCTV at Malton Bus Station.

Personal belongings were found near the river.

North Yorkshire Police have focused searches on the river.

In their statement, Miss Taylor's sisters said they were trying to maintain "normality" for her daughter and other children in the family.

They added: "The local community is amazing, from putting up posters to the daily walks to search for Vixx. We would like to thank the special people, you know who you are.

"The wider community on the Facebook page with over 10,000 people sharing Vixx's information and sending support has given us comfort."

Ch Supt Fiona Willey, of North Yorkshire Police, said: "Our focus remains on the area of the last sighting and where Victoria's possessions were found close to the River Derwent.

"To assist with our search capability, we are utilising police search dogs from Northumbria who are specialised in searching for people. The dogs and their handlers are highly trained and are deployed to scour areas that run alongside the River Derwent.

"In addition to this, we continue with expert-led searches by land and water involving multiple teams, including our force drone unit."

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