The fiancé of missing Victoria Taylor is ‘devastated’ as friends round on the vile internet trolls who are ‘pointing the finger at him’.
Churchgoer Matthew Williams is being targeted by armchair detectives as friends today continue to search for the bride-to-be near the River Derwent.
A Facebook group set up to find the young mother, 34, has regularly been posting updates and revealed how ‘people are pointing the finger at her partner’.
‘It’s sad to see people pointing the finger at her partner,’ one friend wrote. ‘It’s cruel as he is going through enough already without people doing that.’
Another replied: ‘It really is, he’s absolutely devastated.’
Today, a pair of police kayaks were seen combing the river in Malton, North Yorkshire, as the desperate search to find Ms Taylor entered its seventh day.
Her friends this morning met at Malton station before setting off to search the riverbank with some people bringing their own drones to aid in the hunt.
Although the sun was shining, searchers were warned to stay away from the river edge because the banks were treacherous due to mud from overnight rain.
North Yorkshire Police was also concerned that forecasts of heavy rain could hamper the river search in the coming week.
The searchers were again retracing the steps of the nurse, who was last seen heading towards the River Derwent, discarding some of her belongings on the way.
Police have now recovered CCTV from the bus station on the route, which is believed to be more recent than the footage recovered from the BP garage.
It is said to show her walking past the bus station on Monday morning. So far, there have been no confirmed sightings boarding either a bus or train.
Many of the volunteer searchers were from Malton and Norton, where Ms Taylor worked as a dementia nurse in a care home.
But others had travelled from nearby towns such as Driffield, or further afield including Huddersfield where Victoria lived before moving to Malton as a school girl.
Some members of the team had brought their own drones to fly over the rugged and overgrown paths leading through fields next to the river.
But the tree line of the river made it difficult to fly close to the path. They were also poking around in the undergrowth with long sticks.
A hub of the search has been the Derwent Arms pub, which was again handing out free refreshments to searchers today.
Prayers were being said in local churches including St Leonard and St Mary Roman Catholic Church where Victoria planned to marry fiancé Matthew Grant Williams.
The couple had not set a date, but Matthew is a regular worshipper at the church where their two year old daughter was baptised a Catholic, though Victoria is Anglican.
Prayers were also being said in local Anglican churches. It is understood Ms Taylor is a member of a congregation in the Norton area of Malton.
Mr Williams popped the question on Christmas Eve 2021. They had only recently returned from Majorca on their first family holiday together.
The Underwater Search Unit, based in Hull, was also trawling the river, using the most advanced sonar in the country for the first time.
The officers involved had all volunteered to work on Sunday; weekend service with the unit being entirely voluntary.
The search has extended some six miles out of Malton due to the fast flowing river, swollen from heavy rainfall, which has so far prevented divers entering the water.
It comes as they yesterday slammed armchair detectives and internet sleuths for speculating saying: ‘We need facts and facts only right now.’
One of those friends is Charlotte Cundill, who reminded followers to refrain from speculating as she wrote in the group: ‘Mediums and psychics not welcome on page. We need facts and facts only right now.’
She added in another recent post: ‘Remember its such a busy weekend in town this weekend. Please keep up the searching and updating.
‘Can I please ask that the questions STOP, questions like ‘where was she last seen’, ‘what was she wearing’, ‘does she drive’ …’
Divers are carrying out a search along a stretch of the River Derwent in Malton near the home the 34-year-old shares with her fiance Matthew Williams and their two-year-old daughter.
Police released CCTV footage that was captured at 11.35am on Monday, at a BP garage in Welham Road in the Norton area of Malton. It shows the 34-year-old mother inside the shop wearing a camouflage cap and a black Adidas coat.
Some of her belongings were found by police along the riverbank of the River Derwent, including the camo cap she wore in the CCTV images as well as her rucksack, a salmon pink Vans brand.
Another friend, Helen Moran, said: ‘The CCTV footage is her. This has come from family and close friends that know her. The coat is black not blue. Its pixelated from being taken from a screen.
‘She has NOT got on a train or bus. The CCTV has been reviewed and continuing to be reviewed extensively.’
‘Speculation does not help anyone and if it seems an obvious question then the family have already thought it and the family has though it over and over,’ she added.
Friends of the missing mother-of-one claim her Instagram account was still ‘active’ after she vanished.
It’s unclear why the 34-year-old’s account would have been active on Tuesday, after she was last seen the day before.
The items were found just lying in the open, not hidden.
Following her mysterious disappearance, the bottles of soft drinks Ms Taylor was filmed buying at the petrol station were found by her relatives in a clearing on the riverside path.
Police have confirmed that these items were purchased with Ms Taylor’s card at the petrol station.
In regards to her ‘active’ Instagram account, friends have claimed Ms Taylor’s family may have been using her Instagram profile, which led to the account showing as ‘active’.
However, the missing bride-to-be’s loved ones have not stated this was the case.
Ms Taylor was seen at her home in the market town at 9am on Monday with her husband Matthew and their two-year-old daughter. She was Facetiming siblings.
Mr Williams and his fiancee then left with their daughter to visit his parents. Ms Taylor then left his parents’ house and did not return, her sister Heidi Baker said.
A local lady saw her crossing the railway crossing near a Lidl store in Welham Road about 11.30 to 12 noon, heading towards the River Derwent.
A woman in a house near the play park saw her coming down the path leading to the river.
She was then seen by locals passing a local children’s play park, the Riverside Playground, and walking along a thickly overgrown path next to the river between 11.30am and noon.
Following the discovery of Ms Taylor’s belongings, police have been carrying out extensive searches along the River Derwent.
Drones have been used in the search while police in kayaks have also been seen on the river.
An underwater team has also been involved while others officers have reviewed hours of CCTV from around Malton where the mother-of-one was last seen.
Ms Taylor’s friends and family have also been searching the area and have said they will not give up on trying to find her.
One friend said: ‘The majority of Malton and several other areas are searching for you. I’m praying and hoping each and every day to hear good news.’
Any immediate sightings of Ms Taylor should be reported to police on 999.
Anyone with any information that could help the search, is urged to call 101 and quote reference 12240178710.