THE family of a missing mum have spoken of their devastation after a man was charged with her murder.
Katie Kenyon, 33, was last seen at 9.30am on Friday leaving a home in Blackburn, Lancashire with a man before travelling in the silver van.
She has not been heard from since, and yesterday, cops charged Andrew Burfield, of Burnley, with murder.
The 50-year-old is due to appear at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court this morning.
Police say they are working on the basis that Ms Kenyon is no longer alive, although no body has been found.
Ms Kenyon's sister Sarah has now told of her devastation in a moving Facebook post.
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"Receiving the most heartbreaking news this afternoon that… our Katie is no longer with us, has been the worst we had to ever hear," she said.
She added that her family has "lost a mum, a daughter, a sister, an auntie, a niece, a granddaughter and a friend".
A woman matching the missing mum-of-two's description was seen travelling with a man in the Transit to Bolton by Bowland near Gisburn Forest.
A team of 60 specialist search officers from four police forces and sniffer dogs are scouring the beauty spot more than 20 miles from her home town in a hunt for her body.
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Lancashire Police confirmed last night the missing person enquiry was now a homicide investigation. The search has been provisionally scheduled to go on until at least this Friday.
They also released a picture of the van, which has the number plate MT57 FLC.
Mountain rescue teams and a search dog unit have now joined the forest hunt for Ms Kenyon. The site covers 3,000 acres.
Ms Kenyon parked her white Ford Fiesta outside her home in Todmorden Road at 9.15am on Friday. She got into a van around 15 minutes later.
Her family have revealed she left her belongings inside her vehicle.
Before the murder charge, Sarah posted on social media: "This is absolutely heartbreaking for us", adding the horror was "breaking" the family.
Ms Kenyon's other sister Jenny added: "Someone must have seen my sister. It's very unusual and out of character for Katie.
"Nothing adds up and we are all concerned for her and her whereabouts."
A family friend said Ms Kenyon's loved ones were in a "real life nightmare" after she vanished.
She also pleaded for help to get "beautiful" Ms Kenyon home to her children who are "missing her and love her".
Worried neighbours have told how Ms Kenyon's disappearance is "completely out of character".
'OUT OF CHARACTER'
One said: “She’s a very family-oriented person and loves her two children and it’s completely out of character for her to disappear.
“Most of her time is spent with her kids and walking her dog. She’s into spiritual things too.
“She’s a lovely person and always says ‘hello’.
“I last saw her Wednesday morning when she was going to the shop.”
Christine Marshall, 62, described Ms Kenyon as someone who “doted” on her children.
“She’s lived on this road for many, many years,” she said.
“It’s totally out of character for her to disappear like this.
“She’s always very friendly and I last saw on Thursday as she was going to her car.
“At first, I didn’t realise it was her who’d gone missing.
“For her, the kids come first and they must feel terrible at the moment.
“I just hope the police find her soon.”
FIND KATIE
Police are appealing for anyone who was in Bolton by Bowland may have seen Ms Kenyon or the van to get in touch.
The mum has been described as white, aged 33, 5ft 9ins, with shoulder length strawberry blond/ginger highlighted hair.
She was last seen wearing a blue shirt/jacket and white vest top, black leggings and flip flops.
Det Chief Insp Al Davies, of the Force Major Investigation Team, said: “We continue to be extremely concerned about Katie and we have a large team who are working hard to try and find out what has happened to her.
“I am keeping an open mind about what has happened to her but my concern obviously grows as time goes by.
“I would appeal again to anyone who was in the Bolton by Bowland area on Friday and saw anything suspicious to get in touch, especially if they saw the silver van or Katie alone or in company. Please do come and speak to us even if you think the information you have may not be important.
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“We continue to support Katie’s family and to keep them updated with any developments.”
Anyone with information can call police on 101 quoting log 800 of April 24th.
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