A HUSBAND told of his joy and relief last night after his wife and mother-in-law, who had been missing for three days, were found safe and well.Gavin McGuire was due to be reunited with his wife, Josephine, late last night after a major police search spanning several counties.

By David Lennard

A HUSBAND told of his joy and relief last night after his wife and mother-in-law, who had been missing for three days, were found safe and well.

Gavin McGuire was due to be reunited with his wife, Josephine, late last night after a major police search spanning several counties.

She had left their home in Holton, near Halesworth, on Sunday, to pick up her mother, Doris Slatter, 88, from a hospital in Great Yarmouth.

The pair had been expected to return to Suffolk later that day and Mr McGuire called the police after they failed to turn up.

A major media appeal was launched in a bid to trace the two women, and yesterday the family received the news they had been waiting for. The pair were spotted shopping in Chelmsford by a member of the public and a store worker contacted police.

Suffolk police said the mother and daughter “appeared well” and indicated they would be making their way home.

Mr McGuire, a teacher, said: “It is really great news that both my wife and mother-in-law are safe and well.

“It is such a relief and we just want to spend time together as a family to sort things out.”

He said he and the couple's 17-year-old daughter Beth had been touched by the support they had received from family, friends and neighbours in the past few days.

“I cannot thank everyone enough as they were so kind and supportive. We would also like to thank the police and media for all the help they gave us,” he said.

It is believed Mrs McGuire, 53, a teacher at a Lowestoft middle school who had been suffering from depression, had taken Mrs Slatter, who suffers from Alzheimer's Disease, on a “tour”.

The two women are thought to have left Great Yarmouth and headed for Milton Keynes where they have family and friends.

The women joined a family celebration in Buckinghamshire for 90 minutes.

On Tuesday, Mr McGuire was relieved to hear that the two women had been to Milton Keynes but was still anxiously waiting for more news.

The worried husband said he understood why his wife had taken the action because she was very close to her mother and was extremely upset by the fact that Mrs Slatter had spent the past three months in hospital.