Scouring land for missing Joanne

By Sarah Portlock
BBC News, Leeds

More than 250 police and volunteers are spending the weekend combing bleak East Yorkshire farmland in the hunt for missing Hull woman Joanne Nelson.

Search and rescue teams from across the country, special constables and army teams are all helping Humberside Police with its massive undertaking.

Conditions have been cold and wet, but most of the volunteers are trained to work in difficult circumstances.

Pete Thompson, of Scarborough Search and Rescue (SSR), is one of those taking part.

He said: "We have been trained in searching techniques and we are all fit.

"The main difference between this and the work we normally do is that here we are a cog in a very big wheel.

'Huge undertaking'

We may look upwards or turn around and look behind... it sounds simple, but it is surprising what a different point of view you get Pete Thomspon, Scarborough Search and Rescue

"The search is co-ordinated by Humberside Police and I cannot stress enough what a huge undertaking it is."

JobCentre worker Miss Nelson was first reported missing on 14 February, Valentine's Day.

The huge search of farms and moors across East and North Yorkshire is about to enter its second week.

On Saturday, the 15 members of SSR gathered at 0700 GMT to meet police chiefs at a rugby ground near Driffield to hear where they would be searching over the weekend. They were sent to cover land around Kilham, north of Driffield.

Intelligence has lead police to believe the body is in the open, near a wooded area and covered with branches from a pine tree or similar.

"There have been a few showers and the fields are very muddy. Most of the snow has gone but it is very wet," Mr Thompson said.

Joanne Nelson worked in a JobCentre in Hull

The whole area the team has to cover is about 15 miles so they use vehicles.

"We drive to a certain point and have a look around and then go to the next point," Mr Thompson told BBC News.

"We are trained in search techniques so we know what to watch out for. For example, we may look upwards or turn around and look behind us. It sounds simple, but it is surprising what a different point of view you can get by doing this."

A police officer accompanies the team at all times. If anything suspicious is found it is the officer's job to contact police chiefs who will come over. The team will not touch anything suspicious themselves.

Review of search

"This may not be a typical search for us, but we still have our usual provisions.

"We carry enough equipment, such as food, hot drinks, shelters and climbing equipment as we need to be self-sufficient for 24 hours.

"We also carry a complete change of clothing because out here, as well as the North Yorkshire moors where we normally are, the weather can change very rapidly."

Police chiefs are due to meet on Sunday night to review the search and it is thought, if Miss Nelson's body has not been found by then, the hunt will be scaled down.