Police searching for missing chef Claudia Lawrence have ruled out from their investigation the owner of a pick-up truck seen parked outside her house on the day she went missing.
Earlier, the detective leading the hunt for the 35-year-old appealed for the public's help in tracing the owner of a dark-coloured truck, believed to be a Ford Ranger Thunder.
They released CCTV footage showing the vehicle parked close to her home in Heworth, York, on Wednesday March 18.
But after the appeal was broadcast, the owner of a vehicle matching the one seen in the footage came forward and, following a police investigation, the owner and the truck were eliminated from the investigation.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "We appealed for information relating to a dark-coloured pick-up truck which was captured on CCTV outside Claudia Lawrence's home on the evening of March 18.
"Shortly after the appeal was broadcast, the owner of a vehicle matching the vehicle's description and location came forward. Detectives have investigated the vehicle and the driver and have eliminated both from their inquiries."
Miss Lawrence was last seen more than two weeks ago near her home, after leaving work at the University of York's Goodricke College, and has not been in contact with anybody since around 8.30pm that night.
Despite extensive media appeals and police searches, detectives have failed to trace the popular chef.
Detectives have said they fear she may have come to harm after meeting up with somebody she knew.
The police investigation into her disappearance is now the biggest the North Yorkshire force has conducted since the search for multiple killer Mark Hobson five years ago.
