Police looking for Laurel Aldridge, sister-in-law of actor Mackenzie Crook, have found a body.
Aldridge, 62, was reported missing from her home in the village of Walberton, near Arundel in West Sussex, on February 14 and was last seen at Slindon Cricket Club about two miles away.
On Saturday, Sussex Police said: “Unfortunately, the body of a woman has been found in the Tortington Lane area of Arundel.
“At this stage, the family of the missing Laurel Aldridge has been informed and we are trying to confirm the woman’s identity.”
In a Facebook post, Laurel Aldridge’s son, Matthew, announced that his mother’s body has been found.
“After a long and exhausting search, today we found Laurel,” he wrote. “We can share that she was found lying in a beautiful forest and is now at peace.
“We will miss her every day, but we are so proud of all that she has achieved in her 62 years on this earth. Laurel was a wonderful, creative and extremely intelligent person who taught us all about empathy, trust and love.”
He continued: “We as a family are devastated by what has happened, but we have each other, we have our friends and we have the support of the local community, who have so kindly joined us during this difficult time. We will never forget what you did for us.
“For now, we ask for privacy so that we can be together as a family and process our loss.”
A week after Aldridge disappeared, Crook appeared on the ITV program Good Morning Britain to appeal to the public to help find his wife’s older sister.
The British actor, known for roles in The Office, Pirates of the Caribbean and Worzel Gummidge, said his sister-in-law’s disappearance was “very out of character” and “agonizing” for the family.
Appearing at the Slindon cricket ground where Aldridge was last seen, he said: “It was last Tuesday that she left the house with nothing but the clothes she was wearing, no keys, no money, no phone… seen since then. .”
Crook went on to explain that Aldridge, who is considered “very vulnerable”, was diagnosed with cancer last year and missed her fifth round of chemotherapy the day she disappeared.
Asked if she had any clues as to where she might be, the actress said the South Downs area had an “overwhelming” amount of woodland and the family had been searching carefully for their missing relative.
“One can only think I hope she took shelter in a backyard, a shed or an outhouse. We’re asking people to check all these places out, even if they already have.”
Crook, 51, previously described his sister-in-law as a “wonderful mother” and “generally very happy”.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: “It’s terrible, it’s like a nightmare, in some ways we’re waiting to wake up from this, but we have each other and we get so much love and support from the wider community and that’s really helping us get through it.”