Missing girls: Police in appeal to abductor

Detectives hunting the missing 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman took the extraordinary step last night of appealing directly to any abductor to return them safely.

Amid growing concern for the girls' safety, acting Detective Superintendent David Beck called on anyone who may have kidnapped them to give themselves up. "If the children are still there with you, or you know where they are, then I would encourage you to contact a solicitor or someone else you can rely on,'' he said.

"Try to see beyond the next few hours, keep in mind your future ... Get in touch with somebody so that we can all get the girls home safely."

The girls, who spent Sunday playing at Holly's home in Soham, Cambridgeshire, were seen walking happily through the fens town that evening but have not been seen since. Despite one of the largest missing-person hunts mounted in East Anglia, four days of searches have failed to reveal a single clue.

Det Supt Beck said: "We remain optimistic that Holly and Jessica are alive and well. However, as the days continue we must consider the possibility that they are being held against their will."

As the police pieced together the last known movements of two 10-year-olds who disappeared five days ago, their desperation for any clue became increasingly apparent.

While many people had come forward to report seeing Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in the town of Soham up until 7pm on Sunday night, the trail then went cold. At that point, they simply seem to have vanished – or, as the police fear, been abducted.

Yesterday, Ian Huntley, the last person known to have spoken to them, wept as he described how they had seemed "happy as Larry'' just minutes before they disappeared.

The girls had been playing on a computer at Holly's home until shortly after 5.30pm that day. They then walked towards the Ross Peers sports centre where CCTV cameras caught the apparently relaxed pair crossing the car park at 6.13pm and then heading towards the building one minute later.

Yesterday, the centre's chairman, Paul Day, said he believed the pair had gone in to buy sweets before heading across the green in front of Soham Village College next door, where Mr Huntley spoke to them.

They walked a short distance to the town's Sand Street where they were spotted at 6.30pm and 15 minutes later at the nearby war memorial. That was the last definite sighting.

Mr Huntley saw the girls when they came up to ask after his partner – a former teaching assistant at their school.

The 28-year-old was washing his alsation dog in front of the house when he looked up to see Holly and Jessica.

"They said, 'How's Miss Carr?' I said not very good, she didn't get the job [for a permanent position at the school].

"I just saw them for a few minutes. They didn't have a care in the world. It was a very brief conversation. When they were out there, they were as happy as Larry,'' he said, fighting to control his emotions.

"It seems they have disappeared off the face of the Earth. How could two girls go missing in broad daylight?''

Maxine Carr, 25, was among many people to offer poignant memories of the children. She spoke fondly of her last day as teaching assistant at St Andrew's Church of England school a fortnight ago when Holly spent most of the day making her a thank-you card. It was handed over with a box of chocolates and a fond hug. The card, with a brightly coloured smiling face on the front, contained a poem inside.

"It is class 12's special TA (Teaching Assistant).
"We will miss her a lot – and we'll say
"C U in the future Miss Carr.
"Don't leave us, don't go far.
"C ya. Miss ya. Thank you very much.
"Luv Holly," the card, signed with kisses, read.

Yesterday, Miss Carr described Holly as the feminine one while Jessica was more of a tomboy, always wearing trousers and keen on football and swimming. "She said to me, 'When you get married I want to be a bridesmaid and I will even wear a dress'.

"They are both bright kids. They wouldn't get into a car with someone they didn't know. They would have kicked up a right stink if somebody tried to get hold of them, they would have screamed out," she added.

One of Holly's best friends Natalie Parr, 10, told of the Saturday night before their disappearance when she had been invited for a sleepover at the family home in a small cul-de-sac in the Cambridgeshire fens town.

The pair had been shopping with Mrs Wells in Cambridge earlier that day when the missing youngster had bought a CD and sweets for a feast. Setting their alarm for midnight, they woke to search for the sweets by the light of Holly's mobile phone before disturbing her sleeping brother Oliver, 12, and his friend next door.

"We sat up in our room and ate lots of sweets and drank Ribena. We were just talking about school. It was the best slumber party I had been to at Holly's because that night she was in a great mood and was not annoyed with her brother," said Natalie. "Holly and Jessica are like sisters and I miss them terribly. When I heard they had gone missing I burst into tears and at times I cry myself to sleep at night."

Yesterday, officers from forces across the country continued their meticulous search of the area, insisting they were still hoping for a happy ending despite the fact hope was fading with each passing hour.

Superintendent Simon Edens said: "We are looking for any signs that Holly and Jessica have been in the area, anything that may have been dropped of discarded." Heavy rain made their task all the more difficult. "We haven't found anything that's promising but I retain my optimism," he said. "Top of my list of theories is the girls will be found alive and well.''

Detective Superintendent David Hankins said a number of lines of inquiry had arisen from searches of of one of the computers taken from the girls' homes but he could not elaborate on details at this stage.

The district council has been asked to suspend all refuse collections in case any evidence had been discarded. He also appealed for four people dressed in sportswear, a motorcyclist and a white van driver – all spotted on the CCTV footage outside the sports centre – to come forward in the hope they might offer vital clues.

Last night, all six appeared to have contacted police but it was not confirmed whether they were the people on film.