Mackenzie Crook urges people to check outhouses as search for missing sister-in-law Laurel Aldridge continues
Actor Mackenzie Crook has said his family remain “determined and driven” to find his missing sister-in-law a week on from her disappearance – and has urged people in the local area to check their sheds and outhouses.
Laurel Aldridge, 62, who is the older sister of the star’s wife, was reported missing from her home in Walberton, in the Arundel area of West Sussex, on Valentine’s Day, Tuesday 14 February.
She had been undergoing chemotherapy treatment, but did not turn up for a treatment session that day.
Crook, who is known for his roles in Detectorists, The Office, Pirates Of The Caribbean and Worzel Gummidge, said in a new interview that her disappearance has been “agonising” for the family but they have a “strong suspicion” she is still in the local area.
“It’s a week now, it was this time last Tuesday that she left the house with nothing but the clothes she was wearing, no keys, money, phone, and she’s not been seen since,” he told Good Morning Britain.
The star’s televised appeal came from Slindon cricket ground in West Sussex, which he said was the location for “the last positive sighting we had of her and that was a week ago, since then, nothing”.
Crook said his family believe her disappearance could be linked to ongoing chemotherapy treatment.
“She was diagnosed with cancer last year and she missed her fifth chemo session last Tuesday and we think that’s what has triggered some sort of crisis in her and she’s gone off for a long walk somewhere,” he said. “We are really clutching at straws now after a week.”
‘We are asking people to check all of those places in their garden’
Laurel Aldridge was wearing a turquoise fleece and maroon tartan scarf when she was last seen
The actor continued: “At the moment everyone is containing their emotions, I’m sure the time will come for that later but right now everyone is very determined and driven.
“We’ve got a strong suspicion that she is in the local area but that’s just a hunch we’re going on. We can’t imagine that she has gone very far afield.”
Sussex Police previously said officers may have information which could place Mrs Aldridge’s last known location, and to reach this destination she may have crossed busy roads including the A27 and A29.
Crook said that having so many wooded areas nearby was making the search “quite overwhelming”.
He continued: “We have been combing the woodlands for a week now, we can only think she has hopefully taken shelter in a back garden, in a shed, in an outhouse, that’s what we’re hoping.
“We are asking people to check all of those places in their garden – even if they’ve done it before, to go back and check again.
“Now we are also asking people to check dashcam [footage] because there are specific roads the police think she may have crossed in that time.”
Detective Sergeant Alan Fenn has also urged residents in the Walberton and Slindon areas to “check their outbuildings for any sightings of Laurel”.
Mrs Aldridge is described as being around 5ft 4in with grey/blonde highlighted hair. She sometimes wears glasses and was last seen wearing a turquoise fleece, a maroon tartan scarf and a brown hat. She also had a grey puffer jacket with her which she is likely to have been wearing.
They’re getting through 70kg of rice a day and the wholesaler has run out of noodles. Yes, Sumo returns to London on Wednesday.
It’s just the second time a Grand Tournament has been held outside of Japan – and this is a sport that has records going back more than 1,500 years.
It’s 34 years since the Royal Albert Hall hosted the only previous such event on foreign soil – and the appetite for tickets meant all five days sold out immediately.
Much of the focus is on the two grand champions or yokozuna, the 74th and 75th men to attain the rank.
They’re the Mongolian Hoshoryu Tomokatsu, plus Japan’s Onosato Daiki – who this year became the quickest wrestler to achieve the rank in the modern era.
“I’m happy that Sumo is back after so many years,” Onosato said. “I hope I can show the UK fans how fantastic Sumo is.”
“Being a yokozuna has a lot of responsibility,” Hoshoryu told Sky Sports. “We have to show everyone an example of what a yokozuna is – and that’s very difficult.
“My uncle was a yokozuna – and I’m happy to follow in his footsteps. But I came here to London as a yokozuna which he didn’t, so I’m even happier.”
The two are already great rivals.
Onosato Daiki became the quickest ever to achieve yokozuna rank. Pic: AP
At the recent Aki Basho – the most prestigious tournament on the sumo calendar – the pair finished with identical records after 15 days of bouts.
It all came down to a final play-off between the two yokozuna – the first time that had happened in 16 years. It was Onosato who came out on top on that occasion.
Hoshoryu says he is a big fan of basketball and football. He follows Chelsea, although his favourite players are going back a bit: “Didier Drogba and Petr Cech. He’s the ‘keeper. I like this guy!”
Early starts and a hearty stew: The life of a rikishi
The wrestlers – or rikishi – have a rigorous training regime.
They live in communal blocks called stables and practice starts early. Perhaps surprisingly, everyone skips breakfast. After training and practice – and for the younger rikishi, chores – the wrestlers all eat together.
The staple of their diet is chankonabe, a hearty stew packed with meat and vegetables. The feeding of the 40 rikishi who have come over for the five-day tournament is a challenge in itself.
Donagh Collins, the CEO of co-organisers Askonas Holt, said: “We are going through 70 kilos of rice a day. Somebody told me that the wholesaler for the noodles has run out of noodles. We’re really pushing the system here.”
The ring – or dohyo – is just 4.55m in diameter and quite small when two giant wrestlers leap at each other.
The aim of the fights is to either get your opponent onto the floor – or, more spectacularly, shove or hurl them out of the dohyo, so spectators in the ringside seats may be getting extremely up-close to the wrestlers.
The last time the tournament was in Britain, the massive Konishiki, known as the Dump Truck, took centre stage.
The giant Hawaiian was the heaviest-ever rikishi coming in at 287kg – or 45 stone. That’s a lot of wrestler to dodge if he comes falling out of the ring towards you.
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The Royal Albert Hall may be firstly a concert venue, but it has hosted the likes of John McEnroe, Lennox Lewis and even Muhammad Ali.
And for the next five days, the cream of the world of sumo will be thrilling the crowds – provided a new noodle supplier is found.
What is a yokozuna?
Yokozuna is the highest rank in sumo, with its name meaning “horizontal rope” and refers to the rope worn around a competitor’s waist as they enter the ring.
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