THE heartbroken children of a missing mother of four have spoken of their ongoing grief and asked anyone with information to come forward - five years after she disappeared.

Elliot Furniss

THE heartbroken children of a missing mother of four have spoken of their ongoing grief and asked anyone with information to come forward - five years after she disappeared.

Sandra Gant, once a familiar face around Clacton, vanished in 2003 and her three daughters Lauren, Carrie and Michaela have said they remain devastated by their loss.

Although four arrests were made after her disappearance her body has never been found and nobody ever charged.

Speaking from her home in Colchester, Lauren Cheasley - along with her sisters and brother, Peter, said she was still struggling to deal with the fact that her mother was not around to see her grandchildren grow up.

She said: “It's hard to think that if she has been murdered then the person who did it is out there living a life not with a care about what they have done and about what the family have been through.

“When she went missing I was 17 and not having her there for advice and having her shoulder to cry on has been hard.

“When she went missing it seemed like the whole world came crashing down around us. We honestly think she has been murdered.”

The 22-year-old, who has a three-year-old son Callum with her partner, urged anyone who had any details about her mother's disappearance - however small or seemingly insignificant - to come forward.

She said: “Please, find it in your heart, if you know anything, come forward and speak about it. You don't understand how much grief and hurt we have been through.”

Her 30-year-old sister Carrie Mead also spoke out about the family's loss and said she just hoped that five years down the line someone may find the courage to come forward.

She said: “Someone has taken our mum from us and we really need to know and have closure for ourselves, otherwise we're just constantly living with the haunting memories of before.”

Mrs Gant was a divorcee and lived alone in a flat in Wellesley Road, Clacton.

She frequented the town centre shopping area and was last seen by her family on November 14, 2003.

However it is known that she went to a soup kitchen in the town the day after, where she met up with a couple of friends.

The trio and a new male acquaintance then went for a drink at a nearby flat. It is thought that she left alone sometime later that evening to go home but it is not known whether she ever reached there and she has not been seen since.

Detective Inspector Godfrey O'Toole said Essex Police never closed an unsolved case and he believed that there were people who still had vital information that could help them find out what happened.

He said: “I hope that this fifth anniversary of her disappearance will strike a chord with somebody and prompt them to contact us with information.

“The passage of time doesn't make it any easier for Sandra's family who have had years of torment not knowing what happened to her.”

Anyone with any information about this investigation is urged to contact the Stanway Major Investigation Team on 01206 762122 or Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555111.