In 2007 Lawrence purchased a terraced cottage in the York suburb of Heworth, situated about three miles (5 km) from her place of work.

After moving to Heworth in 2007, Lawrence would regularly spend evenings at The Nag's Head pub[1] close to her home.

"Lawrence began relationships with several men whom she met while drinking in the pub, and her father admitted that the liaisons had created 'awkward situations' with her lovers' partners".

[7] Lawrence told her mother she was at home and that she planned to retire early since she would have to rise before 5:00 a.m. the next day in order to walk to work, her car being under repair.

Lawrence was normally a prolific user of her mobile, a Samsung SGH-D900, so Cooper was surprised when she was unable to attract a response.

[7] At this point Cooper became alarmed and contacted mutual acquaintances including George Forman, landlord of The Nag's Head, to obtain information concerning her possible whereabouts.

The only significant items missing were her mobile phone, a set of hair straighteners and a rucksack which she normally used to carry her chef's whites to and from work.

[9] The North Yorkshire Police (NYP) was contacted at around 2:00 p.m. on 20 March in order to report Lawrence as a missing person.

NYP was initially slow to act on grounds that Lawrence was not a vulnerable person and there was no obvious evidence of violence.

[7] The independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers offered a reward of £10,000 to anyone providing information which would lead to the arrest and conviction of any person linked to the disappearance.

[20] In late August 2009, NYP and the Lawrence family used the annual Whitby Regatta in North Yorkshire to publicise the campaign.

Detective Superintendent Ray Galloway stated that Lawrence "knew several people who live on the island" and that she may have "received job offers" while there.

[25] In October, NYP revealed they were looking for the driver of a "rusty white van" who was seen trying to talk to women on Lawrence's route to work in the days before she disappeared.

[30] Galloway indicated that the probable explanation for Lawrence's disappearance lay in her lifestyle, principally in the "complexity and mystery" of her relationships with men.

For a privately educated daughter of a country solicitor, Claudia had some unusual acquaintances and this remains the only missing person case where I have been warned off or threatened—not once but twice".

[6] The general finding which emerged from the original enquiry was that Lawrence had probably been abducted and murdered shortly after leaving home on 19 March.

In June 2013, NYP announced the £300,000 creation of a new Major Crime Unit (MCU), set up to ease the burden on day-to-day policing.

Based in Harrogate, the MCU was to be tasked from October 2013 to handle crimes including rape and kidnap, and review cold cases.

[31] In July 2013, NYP said the unit would assess several "stalled" cases when it opened in October, including Lawrence's disappearance.

Work surrounding her mobile phone showed from cell site activity that she had spent time in the Acomb area of York in the weeks leading up to her disappearance.

[33] CCTV footage, recovered in 2009, showed a silver Ford Focus hatchback car, manufactured between 1998 and 2004, driving along Heworth Road.

In August and September 2021 police engaged in the Lawrence case searched Sand Hutton Gravel Pits, a wooded area around 8 miles (13 km) north-east of York city centre.

[47] At the end of the search detective Wayne Fox, senior investigating officer in the Lawrence case, stated that nothing significant had been found.

[53][54] In regard to Halliwell's possible involvement Lawrence's mother stated "The police may not have proved he had anything to do with my daughter's disappearance, but they haven't disproved it either".

Lawrence's father, Peter, a solicitor, campaigned for the law to be modified in order to allow the appointment of guardians for the affairs of missing people.

This campaigning eventually succeeded with the passing of the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017, which was introduced to Parliament as a Private Members' Bill.