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| April Jones disappearance: first hours will be crucial for police | April Jones disappearance: first hours will be crucial for police |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The immediate hours after a child abduction are crucial for the police. With a hazy description of a light grey van from a young witness as their only lead, investigators will want to blitz the media locally and nationally with appeals for anyone who has seen such a vehicle or a young child matching the description of April Jones. | The immediate hours after a child abduction are crucial for the police. With a hazy description of a light grey van from a young witness as their only lead, investigators will want to blitz the media locally and nationally with appeals for anyone who has seen such a vehicle or a young child matching the description of April Jones. |
| Speed and spread of the message is vital – in four hours such a vehicle could have driven hundreds of miles, or could conversely be hidden a very few miles away from the scene of the abduction. | Speed and spread of the message is vital – in four hours such a vehicle could have driven hundreds of miles, or could conversely be hidden a very few miles away from the scene of the abduction. |
| In the case of April, detectives are helped in a sense by knowing she is the probable victim of an abduction and as a result vital hours and days will not be lost looking for a child who might have innocently wandered away from home. | |
| What CCTV footage there is available around the deeply rural area will also be examined and will continue to be viewed for any possible sightings. Police have also issued a number of pictures of the missing child, including one in which she is wearing the purple coat she had on on Monday night when she was abducted as she played with friends at around 7.30pm. | What CCTV footage there is available around the deeply rural area will also be examined and will continue to be viewed for any possible sightings. Police have also issued a number of pictures of the missing child, including one in which she is wearing the purple coat she had on on Monday night when she was abducted as she played with friends at around 7.30pm. |
| One tactic detectives might consider as the hours pass is a direct appeal to whoever might have abducted five-year-old April. They would want to reach out to urge them to give up the girl or make contact before any further harm is done. Such direct appeals have been made in the past. | One tactic detectives might consider as the hours pass is a direct appeal to whoever might have abducted five-year-old April. They would want to reach out to urge them to give up the girl or make contact before any further harm is done. Such direct appeals have been made in the past. |
| The police will also be examining the movements of known sexual offenders in the area. | The police will also be examining the movements of known sexual offenders in the area. |
| The level of manpower will be crucial as the hours pass and neighbouring forces, British transport police and the military have all offered help to the small Welsh force as the hunt continues. | The level of manpower will be crucial as the hours pass and neighbouring forces, British transport police and the military have all offered help to the small Welsh force as the hunt continues. |
| The Dyfed-Powys force is also receiving advice from Charlie Hedges, manager of the missing, abducted and kidnapped children unit at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection unit. | The Dyfed-Powys force is also receiving advice from Charlie Hedges, manager of the missing, abducted and kidnapped children unit at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection unit. |
| Road-blocks have been in place for several hours along the routes in and out of the town of Machynlleth in an attempt to intercept the vehicle described by a friend of April's. | Road-blocks have been in place for several hours along the routes in and out of the town of Machynlleth in an attempt to intercept the vehicle described by a friend of April's. |
| A police hotline, 0300 2000 333, is being circulated nationally. | A police hotline, 0300 2000 333, is being circulated nationally. |
| Dyfed-Powys police are also using social media to disseminate information quickly. | Dyfed-Powys police are also using social media to disseminate information quickly. |
| The force said: "Whilst the details of what happened are unclear at the current time, it appears the suspect left the scene and drove off with April." | The force said: "Whilst the details of what happened are unclear at the current time, it appears the suspect left the scene and drove off with April." |
| Experienced detectives said the key for police would be to establish a clear timeline of where April was and what she was doing in the hours before she went missing and in the minutes before she was seen getting into the vehicle – something made more difficult by the young age of the witnesses to the abduction. | |
| Officers will also need to keep an open mind and examine the full family history of the missing child to see whether there is anyone known to April who might have taken her. | |
| Trained officers will try to elicit from the friends who said they saw her entering the vehicle whether there was a struggle, or whether she got in willingly, suggesting the occupant was known to the child. | |
| The inquiry is being carried out in the context that abductions by strangers – the worst case scenario – are still extremely rare in the UK. |