Missing woman's mum wants her 'little girl home'

The mother of a woman who is missing and suspected to have been murdered says she wants to bring her "little girl home" to "bury her".

Sylvia Jenkins and her husband Christopher discovered their 32-year-old daughter Natalie, from Thornaby, was missing in December 2019 after they went to her shared house which looked "too perfect" and not lived in.

Mrs Jenkins said Natalie's disappearance has hit the family "particularly hard" and would like anyone with information to help them lay her to rest.

Senior investigating officer DCI Deborah Fenny at Cleveland Police appealed for anyone to "come forward with information and let us explore it and investigate it", including anonymously.

After Natalie went missing police searched her home and released CCTV of her last known sighting, walking towards Albert Park in Middlesbrough 23:38 GMT on 10 December.

Arrests were made but police had been unable to find out what happened to her, even after Crimestoppers offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person responsible for her murder.

Six years after the disappearance, her mother said: "I believe that my Natalie has been murdered.

"I'm just a mother. Can I have my little girl back, please? Let me put it to rest."

She said those "too frightened" to say where Natalie was should tell the police anonymously.

"I just want to bring my little girl home."

She described her husband as her "rock" through a "very difficult time" but said his health had declined.

"Christmas is particularly hard, because Christmas is family time in our house," she added.

Fenny said: "We've realised we're struggling with enquiries and we're still heavily relying upon the public to come forward with information to maintain our investigation."

She said she was hopeful in finding Natalie and urged anyone with any information to come forward.