Hundreds join Ripon search for missing Cocker Spaniel Ella

A huge search operation involving hundreds of people is continuing in Ripon  to find a missing eight-year-old Cocker Spaniel.

Ella went missing at about 11.30am with her younger sister Holly on Friday, October 13.

They were in a group of dogs being exercised by a professional dog walker in the Clotherholme Road wooded area on the Royal Engineers’ barracks site,

But while three-year-old Holly was found safe 35 minutes later, the search for Ella, launched by her distraught owners Andy and Jo Coombs, who live in the Ripon area, has been ongoing day and night since.

Holly, pictured with Andy Coombs, was found but the search goes on for Ella.

Co-ordinated by Mandy Butler of the Lost Dog Trapping Team Search & Rescue Network, the operation has involved the use of tracker dogs, drones with thermal imaging equipment, monitoring of live cameras, checking cctv footage, the production and installation of hundreds of ‘missing’ posters and an appeal for assistance on social media.

One of the posters.

On Sunday, 60 members of the community, including a large contingent of dog owners, carried out a detailed search of the route where Ella had been walking on October 13.

Mr Coombs told the Stray Ferret:

“My wife and I are trying to remain hopeful and putting our full energies into finding her.

“Since she went missing there has been a massive gap in our lives, that will only be filled when she returns to us. “

He added:

“The response of the local community has been incredible, with hundreds of people stepping in to help us in whatever ways that they can, from putting up posters, to reporting potential sightings that we have been following up.”

Anybody with information that may help in the search is asked to contact Mandy Butler on 07947 866 582 or via Ella’s Facebook page that can be accessed by clicking here.


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Missing Harrogate boy found safe and well

Police have confirmed that a missing Harrogate boy has been found.

The 12-year-old went missing from his home in Harrogate on Wednesday (June 21).

North Yorkshire Police has since confirmed that the boy has been found safe and well.


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Search for missing Sophie Lambert enters fifth night

Searches for missing Starbeck woman Sophie Lambert are continuing this evening, as her disappearance goes into a fifth night.

There has been no update from North Yorkshire Police since yesterday, but officers are still out around Nidd Gorge.

The area has been the focus for the search since the weekend, conducted by North Yorkshire Police officers alongside mountain and underwater rescue crews.

Members of the public are also covering as much ground as possible to try to find the 22-year-old.

Sophie’s family has also asked the community to get involved in the search and has invited people to meet at Conyngham Hall car park at 6pm today. From there, people will go out in groups to continue searching into the evening.

Those helping with the efforts have been posting the routes they have taken in a Facebook group dedicated to the search for Sophie, which now has more than 1,600 members.

Anyone who sees Sophie is urged to call 999 and speak to North Yorkshire Police, quoting reference 12230110845.

Meanwhile, posters have been put up across Harrogate and Knaresborough asking people to look for her.

Swaledale Mountain Rescue vehicles on Bilton Lane near the Nidderdale GreenwayMountain rescue organisations have also been involved in the search

Sophie left home around 6.50pm on Friday evening and was seen 15 minutes later on CCTV, but has not been seen since.

However, police revealed yesterday that her mobile phone, bank card and top had been found by a member of the public near the river at Nidd Gorge in Bilton on Saturday morning.

At a press conference in the area yesterday afternoon, critical incident inspector Graham Waller said:

“We are very concerned for Sophie’s welfare.

“It’s totally out of character for her to be away from home for this long.

“At the moment we don’t have any suggestion she has come to harm but we are keeping an open mind.”

An appeal video was posted by North Yorkshire Police yesterday evening


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Search for missing Sophie Lambert finds her mobile phone

A mobile phone, bank card and a top belonging to missing Sophie Lambert have been found, police said today.

The possessions were discovered by a member of the public on Saturday morning near the river at Nidd Gorge, which is the focus of the search for the 22-year-old from Starbeck.

North Yorkshire Police revealed the news at a media call today, at which they said a 30-strong search party consisting of police, mountain and underwater rescues had been combing the 500-metres area around where the items were found in Bilton.

Sophie Lambert

They added helicopters and dogs had also been employed in the operation.

Inspector Graham Waller, the critical incident inspector based at Harrogate, said there had been “no positive sightings” of Sophie in the 72 hours since she disappeared.

Insp Graham Waller pictured at the police search scene today.

He added the search would widen and continue “as long as necessary” during daylight hours if Sophie is not found. He said:

“We are very concerned for Sophie’s welfare.

“It’s totally out of character for her to be away from home for this long.

“At the moment we don’t have any suggestion she has come to harm but we are keeping an open mind.”

Asked what people could do to help, and whether they should take part in search parties, Insp Waller urged people to “remain vigilant” and contact the police if they had any information but said he would “discourage” members of the public taking part in search parties because of the “difficult terrain” in Nidd Gorge.

In today’s update, police said Sophie was last seen at home by her family at 6.50pm on Friday night and then captured shortly afterwards on CCTV camera at 7.06pm.

She was wearing dark trousers, a black top with a white adidas logo and dark shoes with a white sole. She had her hair tied back and was carrying a bottle with a pink lid.


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Police use drone in search for missing Harrogate woman Judith

Police used a drone today in the search for missing Harrogate woman Judith Holliday.

The drone was flown in large open areas around North Rigton and Lindley Wood Reservoir as the search entered its 10th day.

Judith, 73, left her care home on Harcourt Road in Harrogate at 10.32am on Saturday, August 27. She was then captured on CCTV at Harrogate bus station and later in Library Gardens at 10.43am.

It’s believed she then caught a bus out of Harrogate and then flagged down a member of the public and asked for a lift to North Rigton, where the last confirmed sighting took place.

North Yorkshire Police is now asking anyone who was in North Rigton between 1.30pm and 3pm on August 27 to check any dashcam or camera footage to see if it captured Judith.

Search for Judith Holliday

Police searching for Judith Holliday at Almscliffe Crag.

She was last seen wearing a distinctive blue jacket and is described as being of thin build, approximately 5ft in height, and having medium length grey hair.

North Yorkshire Police critical incident inspector Phoebe Southall said:

“Please continue to support our search by checking dashcam and video footage and remaining vigilant.

“Please also check any outbuildings or sheltered areas.

“Any immediate sightings of Judith should be reported to 999.

“If you have any dashcam or video footage of Judith or information that could assist the investigation then please call us on 101. “

Quote reference number 12220153505 when providing information.


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Lucinda Edwards, Judith’s niece, thanked people for their support:

“We’re so grateful for the level of support our community has shown in our mission to locate Judith.

“Judith and anyone living with an illness like hers deserves to have this level of support and awareness to keep them safe.”

Judith has dementia and requires medication, however she often presents fit and well.

 

Search for missing dog Molly set to enter second month

The team behind a major search operation for a missing dog in Harrogate have said they will not stop looking for the beloved pet.

Emily Watson’s white bichon frise, Molly, was spooked by another dog and ran away in Nidd Gorge on June 23.

Her last sighting was near the viaduct on the Bilton/Ripley cycle path.

Ms Watson has faced online abuse due to the length of the search, with people saying she should not continue.

However, she has vowed that she will “never give up” and has thanked the community for their continued support.

The search also faced a setback this week when a camera set up to attempt to track Molly was vandalised.

Jen Bell, who has been part of the team helping Ms Watson, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are working behind the scenes with professionals whose time, expertise and equipment are provided on a voluntary basis.

“One of the cameras on loan to us was vandalised recently and the SD card was thrown or dropped further along the road.

“A member of the public found the SD card but we found that the perpetrator(s) had tampered with it, meaning that we have lost 24 hours of footage.

“Consequently, this has hindered our search for Molly. We are however a strong team supporting Emily, and we endeavour to continue our work with the professionals in finding Molly.”


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Ms Watson has put out regular appeals on Facebook to help find the missing dog and a group called Missing Molly has also been set up.

Posters, banners and flyers have also been displayed and given out in the area.

In an outpouring of support, the community has been out in force searching for Molly, who was wearing a purple harness when she went missing.

Volunteers have also come forward with thermal drones, a dog tracking team and thermal cameras.

Many have continued the search into nightfall.

Residents have also checked their smart doorbells and CCTV cameras for sightings.

Ms Watson is now asking residents in the surrounding villages of Harrogate to keep their eyes peeled.

She said:

“I will carry on for as long as is needed in the search for Molly.”

Anyone who has seen Molly or who has any information is asked to call her owner Emily Watson on 07852 636641.

Harrogate rallies in search of missing dog Molly

A dog who who ran away in the Nidd Gorge has now been missing a week despite a major search operation.

Emily Watson’s white bichon frise, Molly, was spooked by another dog at 9am last Thursday.

Her last sighting was near the viaduct on the Bilton/Ripley cycle path.

Pippa Kemp, who has been helping Ms Watson with the search, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are desperate now. It’s not just the length of time, it’s how hot it has been and that no one has seen her.”

Ms Watson has put out regular appeals on Facebook to help find the missing dog and a group called Missing Molly has also been set up.

Posters and flyers have also been displayed and given out in the area.

Molly, the bichon frise.

In an outpouring of support, the community has been out in force searching for Molly, who was wearing a purple harness when she went missing.


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Volunteers have also come forward with thermal drones, a dog tracking team and thermal cameras.

Many have continued the search into nightfall.

Residents have also checked their smart doorbells and CCTV cameras for sightings.

And yesterday a search party was given permission to access the sewerage works, near to where she went missing.

Ms Kemp said:

“The experts who have been looking for her said it was unbelievable that she hasn’t been seen, but it does happen.

“We are holding out hope that she is out there somewhere.”

Ms Kemp praised the Harrogate community for their ongoing support.

She said:

“They have been amazing. We have had so many messages from people offering to help.

“Harrogate is unbelievable for pulling together when something like this happens. We are such a dog-loving community.”

The search is continuing today, with another tracker dog going out this afternoon.

Ms Kemp said:

“We just want to get some kind of evidence that she is still in the area. If she has moved about, or if she has been down to the river for a drink. If a scent is picked up today, it will be a recent one.”

Anyone who has seen Molly or who has any information is asked to call her owner Emily Watson on 07852 636641.

People are being asked not to approach her, while avoiding eye contact and sudden movements.