Lana Purcell: £20,000 reward offered in missing woman search

The last confirmed sighting of Lana Purcell is believed to have been on 17 January 2011 in Soho

The family of a woman missing for 10 years say they have endured "absolute hell" as police offer a £20,000 reward for information.

Lana Purcell was 27 when she disappeared from the Wellesley Road area of Camden, north London, in January 2011.

Her daughter Megan - now 15 - was just six when her mother disappeared.

The Met Police is offering the reward for information leading to a conviction or to Ms Purcell's whereabouts.

"I'm hoping for my mum to come home and find out where she's been or why it's been so long," Megan said.

"It's been hard because of all the stories we've been hearing, it just seems like it's not going to come to an end.

"We've sort of given up hope that she's going to come home," Megan continued.At the time of her disappearance Ms Purcell was involved in drugs and was working as a sex worker.

The last confirmed sighting of her is believed to have been on or about 17 January 2011 and officers believe she may have been heading to the Soho area.

Her father John Purcell said: "It's been awful. Every day I wake up with a knot in my belly and I struggle to get out of bed sometimes.

"It's terrible, absolute hell."

'Hurt and torment'

Ms Purcell was reported missing to the police five days after she disappeared.

The investigation has followed up on a number of sightings from people who claimed to have seen her in north London.

Det Insp Mike Stubbins, who is one of the lead investigators, said: "Her family have had to endure 10 years of hurt and torment by not knowing what happened to Lana.

"So we're today asking the public for information about her whereabouts or what's happened to her."He added: "I am very confident that there will be people who know full well what happened to Lana but have not yet spoken to us."Anyone with information into the disappearance of Ms Purcell is asked to call 101.