Missing Helen Bailey: Partner Ian Stewart appeals for information

One month after a missing children's author was last seen, her partner has said her disappearance has "shattered" the family.

Helen Bailey, who wrote the Electra Brown series, was last seen walking her dog near her home in Royston, Hertfordshire, on 11 April.

There has not been any trace of the 51-year-old or her pet despite searches.

Her partner Ian Stewart said: "Whatever has happened, wherever you are I will come and get you."

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Northumberland-born Ms Bailey, who lived with her partner, had gone for a walk with her miniature dachshund Boris and had reportedly said she "needed a little time to herself". She was reported missing on 15 April.

As well as the teenage book series, she started a blog called Planet Grief after her husband of 22 years drowned on holiday in Barbados in 2011.

Officers searching for the author have carried out extensive searches of the local area and checked hundreds of hours of CCTV footage. They have said there is nothing to indicate "foul play"".

In a statement, Mr Stewart said he hoped she would hear his message and "listen carefully".

"We miss you and Boris so much... We are shattered in so many ways," he said.

"You not only mended my heart five years ago but made it bigger, stronger and kinder.

"Together we learnt to live with our grief and move forward with our lives but never forgetting. Now it feels like my heart doesn't even exist. Our plans are nowhere near complete and without you there is no point."

Ms Bailey's brother, John, said it had been an "extremely difficult time" for her family.

Making a direct appeal to his sister, he said: "I know you had said you wanted some time and space and we don't want to intrude on that unless you want us to... All we need is some information that you are OK."

Chief inspector Julie Wheatley said it was a "highly unusual case" because Ms Bailey "seems to have simply disappeared".

"We literally have no trace of her despite extensive searches and inquiries which have been on-going since she was reported missing," she said.

"Whilst this very much remains a missing person's inquiry... as the days and weeks pass we and Helen's family and friends are becoming increasingly concerned for her welfare."

The force has asked for Ms Bailey, or anyone who knows where she might be, to contact them.