OFFICERS investigating the disappearance of Hitchin teacher Leda Bolden are trying to trace a man and woman who they believe may have information that could help them.

Leda, 39, went missing from her home in Waterloo Road, Bedford, on Easter Sunday at around 9pm.

A member of the public has reported hearing two people arguing in the vicinity of the corner of Rothsay Road and The Embankment sometime between around 9.30pm and 10.30pm on the same evening.

Police are now hoping to trace these two people as they believe they may have seen or heard Leda as she walked in the area.

The member of public who alerted police to their presence has been unable to describe what they looked like.

It is known Leda, an assistant headteacher at Our Lady RC School, visited a local shop to buy cigarettes at 9.20pm, and then walked up Howbury Street which leads directly into Russell Park. This was the last known sighting of her.

She did not take her handbag, keys or phone and has not made any contact with her family at all. Enquiries by police, including the usual ground and water searches which are still taking place in the local area, have yet to reveal any information about what has happened to her. These searches, including those with police dogs, will continue into next week.

“Obviously Leda’s family are extremely worried about her,” said Det Insp Jerry Waite.

“Leda hasn’t been missing before and as there seems to have been no trace of her for over two weeks, that makes us extremely concerned about her safety.

“We’re hoping this couple near Rothsay Road and Embankment, or someone who knows who they were, will make contact with us. It’s possible they could have seen or heard something without realising its significance. Please give us a call – even if you think you don’t have anything of importance to tell us.”

Leda is described as white, 5ft 5ins tall, slim with green eyes and shoulder length straight blonde hair. She was wearing lime green Jack Wills jogging bottoms, a lilac polo top, and her husband’s blue/grey French Connection jacket with white trainers when she left the house.

Anyone with information that could help find her can contact Det Insp Waite on 01234 275113 or on the non-emergency police number 101.