Mother's tears in missing girl plea
The mother of one of two missing 10-year-old girls today made a tearful plea for the youngsters to return home as fears grew that they had been abducted.
Nicola Wells, mother of Holly, broke down in tears saying: ‘‘We just want them home’’ as police revealed the hunt for the girls had gone cold.
Barely audible as she struggled to contain her emotions, Mrs Wells, 35, said: ‘‘Anyone who is a parent must know what we’re going through.’’
Holly, and friend Jessica Chapman, have been missing from their homes in Soham, Cambridgeshire, since Sunday evening.
The youngsters, who were wearing Manchester United shirts, were believed to have been spotted on Monday.
Today the detective leading the hunt said the sighting may have been misplaced.
Detective Superintendent David Hankins said police were ‘‘increasingly having to look at the possibility that the girls have been abducted’’.
‘‘From the outset we thought this might be a prank, we thought there might have been an accident, now we are sadly having to consider the possibility of an abduction,’’ he said.
‘‘Sadly this inquiry is rapidly turning from a missing persons inquiry to an investigation of criminal abduction.’’
Interviews with bus drivers who use the route the girls were last seen on and searches of CCTV footage had failed to provide any new leads for the 100-plus officers now working on the case, he said.
Mr Hankins added: ‘‘The longer this investigation takes, the more nights that Jessica and Holly area away from their parents, the greater the danger they are in.’’
Mrs Wells said: ‘‘If they were able to get to a phone or get any help, they would,’’ she said.
Asked if the girls could be hiding somewhere, afraid they were in trouble, Mrs Chapman said: ‘‘Jessica doesn’t like the dark, she would come home.’’
