Missing mum Victoria Taylor's loved ones issue heartbreaking five-word update on Day 18 of search

Missing mum Victoria Taylor has not been seen or heard from in 18 days - as police continue to scour an area near a murky river they say there is a 'significant possibility' she entered

Devastated loved ones of missing mum Victoria Taylor have issued a poignant five-word statement 18 days after the bride-to-be vanished.

Victoria, 34, was last seen at an address in Malton, North Yorkshire, at 9am on Monday 30 September, and has not contacted her family or friends since. Police later traced her final movements on CCTV, which captured Victoria buying a soft drink at a BP garage at 11.35am on the day she disappeared, before a final sighting was recorded at 12.30pm, and saw her walking towards a riverside.

Officers then found a baseball cap and rucksack belonging to the mum by the River Derwent, and later said “We must accept the significant possibility that Victoria has entered the river.” Victoria, known locally as Vixx, is described as being white and approximately 5ft six inches tall. She was last spotted wearing blue jeans, a black Adidas original puffer jacket with white stripes down the sleeves and a grey Jack Wills hooded jumper.

As the search for Victoria enters its 18th day, loved ones have issued a moving statement, and opened with five heartbreaking words: "Hope is all we have." The message, posted by a friend to a Facebook page titled 'The search for Victoria Taylor', adds: "The days are going by so fast and we are just stuck in limbo. Waiting and hoping for something, anything.

"Again I have thanks for everyone out searching; The police, all from our search community and everyone sharing the posts/ picture and info. When out please be careful, my sister Heidi and I slipped the other day. Thank goodness nobody saw..."

It comes shortly after Victoria's sisters Emma and Heidi shared a touching message as they thanked police and members of the public for their efforts, and revealed Halloween is one of Victoria's favourite seasons. The statement, released on the two-week anniversary since Victoria was reported missing, read: “There are no words for us to describe how we are feeling as it's ever-changing.

"We have to have some sort of normality for the children. As we know, Vixx is a mum but also an auntie and Halloween is one of her favourite seasons as she is the costume queen!

“We would like to thank the police teams as they are doing all they can, and we understand that these things take time. 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. We continue to have hope, as it is all we have at this time.”

Head of Local Policing, Chief Superintendent Fiona Willey added: “Over the past fourteen days we have carried out extensive enquiries to try and locate Victoria. 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.

“We are continuing to source and act on advice from national policing specialists and are issuing multiple appeals to the public and media for information.”