Claire Holland 10 years on: What happened to missing Bristolian?
A decade since Claire Holland went missing in central Bristol, police are re-appealing for help to find her
Last updated 6th Jun 2022
Police investigating the disappearance of a woman in Bristol are re-appealing for information, 10 years to the day since she went missing.
Claire Holland, who was 32 at the time and from Lawrence Weston, was last seen leaving the Seamus O’Donnell’s pub in St Nicholas Street on the evening of June 6 2012.
Much like now, it was the day after the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend.
Detective Chief Inspector Darren Hannant said: “Claire’s disappearance is being treated as suspicious as there remains no known reason why she would choose to disappear.
“We’ve now just celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend, so I’m asking people to cast their mind back to the Diamond Jubilee celebrations – were you in Bristol on the evening of Wednesday 6 June, 2012?
"Did you see anything which could help our investigation?"
In March this year a 40-year-old man was re-arrested on suspicion of murder.
He remains on police bail but to date, has not been charged with a crime.
“This remains an extensive investigation and to date we’ve completed almost 300 investigative actions, taken 78 statements and collated 404 documents and 135 exhibits," Hannant continued.
“We firmly believe there are people out there with crucial information that could assist our investigation and would urge them to contact us.
“Please think of Claire’s children and her wider family on this day – they are desperate for answers and deserve to know what happened, and why. If you’re holding on to a piece of information, please share it with us – it could be the key to solving this case.”
The key points the police need help with are as follows:
- Were you in the Seamus O’Donnell’s pub on the night Claire was last seen – Wednesday 6 June, 2012? If you were and haven’t yet spoken to them, please do so now. They want to identify everyone who spoke to Claire on the day she disappeared.
- Please watch the CCTV clips – did you see a woman matching Claire’s description (also see description below) heading into Bristol city centre from the direction of St Nicholas Street after 11pm. You may have seen her elsewhere in Bristol on the same evening - if so, officers want to speak to you. Claire is described as white, 5ft tall, of slim build, with shoulder-length brown hair, which was sometimes tied back in a ponytail.
- Were you a friend or acquaintance of Claire? If you didn’t speak to police at the time she went missing, or since, now is the time. They need to know as much as they can about what Claire was doing or sharing with others in the days and weeks leading up to her going missing?
- Has someone told you information about this case which may have sounded unusual or suspicious? Has anyone confided in you about what may have happened to Claire? Now is the time to put aside any doubts you have had about making contact and help the police find answers for the sake of Claire’s family and loved ones.
You can provide information online here, or you can also call 101 and give the call handler the reference number 5219172645.
You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.