A HUSBAND has described his relief after his wife, who has been missing for almost two years, may have been sighted in Suffolk.

Patricia Finnie, 65, from Shoebury, has not been seen since May 11, 2017, when she left a friend’s house in Southend.

Her husband Gordon Finnie and their family have been tirelessly trying to trace her movements in the hope of determining what has happened to her.

Last week, Essex Police stated they had received reports that Patricia had been spotted near a bridge in Lowestoft town centre.

Gordon, 66, said: “I feel at long last they’re really taking on board the things we’ve been saying. It was like a tidal wave hitting me and I thought all my Christmases had come at once.

“I think the feeling up to now was that she was dead but last night I was already saying we could get to the situation where I could be meeting her face to face.

“It’s obviously emotional and we just have to prepare ourselves – you just don’t know what you’re wishing for.”

Pat has struggled with drug and alcohol abuse in the past and this was worsening in the months prior to her disappearance.

Her bank accounts have not been touched, her clothes remain in the wardrobe and no documents have been moved.

The only lead was a single ping off a mobile phone tower in Shoebury more than a year ago which prompted police to search a lake in Shoebury last year.

Gordon added: “The overriding emotion at the moment is a massive sense of relief – I was almost tearful.

“They hit us with all the things they’ve been doing – not just this sighting – we’ve hung in and chipped away, shouting for them to do ridiculous things and we’re finally getting somewhere.”

Gordon said shortly after Christmas he was expecting police might mark it as a cold case but that recently it has been quite the opposite.”

Essex Police are urgently appealing to anyone who may have information about Patricia’s whereabouts.

If you can help their investigation, contact the force on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.