April Jones abduction: Family 'shattered' by abduction as man held
April Jones abduction: Family 'devastated' by abduction as man held
(34 minutes later)
The family of a missing five-year-old girl say they are "shattered" by her abduction as police hold a 46-year-old man for questioning.
The family of a five-year-old girl missing in mid Wales say they are "devastated" by her abduction as police hold a 46-year-old man for questioning.
April Jones was with friends near her Machynlleth home when she "willingly" got into a van at 19:00 BST on Monday.
April Jones was with friends near her Machynlleth home when she "willingly" got into a van at 19:00 BST on Monday.
The arrested man, named locally as Mark Bridger, would be questioned on Tuesday night, police said.
The arrested man, named locally as Mark Bridger, would be questioned on Tuesday night, Dyfed-Powys Police said.
At a news conference, Det Supt Reg Evans read a statement from April's family calling for help in tracing her.
In a statement April's family said: "Please, please if you have our little girl, let her come home to us."
More to follow...
The statement, read at a news conference by Det Supt Reg Bevan, said: "Last night our lives were shattered when our beautiful little girl April who was playing with friends was taken from us.
"We are devastated and our lives have stopped.
"This is such a small, close knit community and we plead with anyone who has any information no matter how small they may think it is to contact the police immediately.
"Please help us bring home our beautiful little girl."
Det Supt Bevan said the arrested man remained in custody and would be questioned that night.
Coastguard teams
Police earlier confirmed that the 46-year-old man had been arrested at about 16:00 BST on the A487 main road north out of Machynlleth, which has been closed in both directions as far as Cross Foxes, near Dolgellau, 12 miles away.
The search effort had continued into the evening, including coastguard teams combing the banks of Dyfi estuary and RNLI inshore lifeboats on the water.
Speaking at an earlier news conference in Aberystwyth on Tuesday afternoon, Det Supt Bevan said the arrested man had been sought by police and was stopped while he was walking along a road outside the town. His vehicle, similar to the one described by witnesses, has now been recovered.
"We knew he was in the area, we've been anxious to trace him and speak to him," he added.
Det Supt Bevan said: "We're still pursuing all lines of inquiry with the view that April is still alive and will continue to do so until we find her."
'Tremendous response'
When asked if police were looking for anyone else, he said: "It's a very early stage. He is a local man and it's a small community. I wouldn't like to speculate further."
But he went on to say: "We have a number of leads. Some are higher priority than others.
"This man is significant, clearly, but I'm sure there are other people in the area who can assist and I would appeal to them to get in touch."
April disappeared close to her home on the Bryn-y-Gog estate in Machynlleth. She was last seen by a friend getting into the driver's side of a light-coloured van at 19:00 BST on Monday. Police said she had left her home to play with friends earlier that evening. She was wearing a purple knee-length coat with her white school polo shirt and black trousers.
Town in shock
The quiet Powys market town of Machynlleth has been left stunned by the abduction of five-year-old April. Aerial images of the town, which has a population of about 2,000, show a small rural community surrounded by woodland and open countryside.
The search
A police search was launched on Monday after April failed to return home. Hundreds of people from the Machynlleth community and beyond have since joined the hunt for the five year old. Search volunteer Anwen Morris said locals had used quad bikes and off-road vehicles to search an area with a 30-mile radius.
Supt Ian John added: "We are continuing with the searches and can I ask everyone who has already looked in their sheds, outbuildings to do so once more, we still have a missing five-year-old."
He said the search for April had involved mountain rescue teams, British Transport Police, police dogs and helicopters as well as people from the town and the surrounding area who had helped with the efforts.
Police have praised the "tremendous response" from the community as hundreds of people have been gathering at the local leisure centre to help with the search.
Search volunteer Anwen Morris said locals had searched an area with a 30-mile radius using quad bikes and off-road vehicles.
Mayor of Machynlleth Gareth Jones said people had travelled from outside of the area to help.
"We live in hope," he said. "I want to appeal to people out there who may have seen something, even if they thought it's not of very much importance, to come forward and tell police."
Powys County Council said it was providing support for pupils and staff at April's school - Ysgol Gynradd Machynlleth.
St Peter's Church in the town has organised a vigil for people in the town where candles will be lit and prayers said for the missing schoolgirl.
According to Home Office figures there were 532 child abductions in England and Wales between 2011 and 2012.
About 500 children under 16 are abducted each year - but the majority of these are parental abductions, according to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop).
Dyfed-Powys Police have asked anyone with information to contact a dedicated hotline on 0300 2000 333.
