'They found her handbag in the river' – daughter of missing Malvern woman Leung 'Mary' Yapp speaks of her fears

West Mercia Search and Rescue had initially began looking in the river following the disappearance of Mrs Yapp, 72, who went missing from the Malvern area on November 18.

Officers believe she was last seen on the river bridge in Powick, while her daughter Jennifyr Yapp said her handbag was also found in the river.

Jennifyr said the family contacted private rescue firm Specialist Group International (SGI), to get involved in the search for her mum.

She said her brother died from terminal cancer around a month ago, which left her mother “grief-stricken”.

“He was the eldest of four children,” said Jennifyr. “She was struggling to cope with the loss, it was too great. My brother was everything.”

She went on to say the family contacted SGI chief executive Peter Faulding directly who “offered to help for free”

“Peter is a family man, and agreed to do it for free today and tomorrow,” said Jennifyr.

“They [SGI] are working alongside the police and volunteers, to pool all of their resources.”

She said six divers began scouring the river on Thursday morning from around 9.30am and will continue until the evening, before starting again on Friday.

There is also a sniffer dog involved in the search, while an eye witness said he saw at least a dozen police and firefighters at the scene on Thursday morning.

Jennifer said the SGI team were making initial checks of the river on Wednesday evening, with the assistance of the police.

A spokeswoman for West Mercia Police confirmed: “Police are continuing to search for information to help find missing local woman Leung (Mary) Yapp.”

Ms Leung is described as being of Chinese origin, five feet, two inches tall, and with greying black hair cut into a short bob.

Anybody with information should call 101 or the Missing People charity on 116 000 or at missingpeople.org.uk.