Police say girls probably snatched as fears grow

Experts from Sarah Payne and Milly Dowler investigations brought in as reported sightings of pair prove unreliable

The hope offered by a reported sighting of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman faded yesterday when detectives said they were increasingly concerned that the missing 10-year-olds had been abducted.

Cambridgeshire Police said they feared the woman who reported seeing two girls fitting Holly and Jessica's description in a village near Ely, 12 hours after their disappearance on Sunday, was mistaken.

Detective Superintendent David Hankins said: "From the outset, we thought [the disappearance] might be a prank. We thought there might have been an accident. Now, we are sadly having to consider the possibility of an abduction.

"This inquiry is rapidly turning from a missing persons inquiry to an investigation of criminal abduction. The longer this investigation takes, and the more nights Jessica and Holly are away from their parents, the greater the danger they are in."

In the girls's home town of Soham in the Cambridgeshire fens the mood was increasingly sombre. There were posters appealing for news of the girls in almost every window. Police officers filled the town and helicopters buzzed back and forth overhead. At a press conference, Holly and Jessica's mothers made an appeal for information, their voices barely audible through their sobbing. Nicola Wells said: "We just want them home. Anyone who is a parent must know what we're going through."

In the evening, a vigil was held at St Andrew's Church in Soham, where Holly's parents lit candles for the girls. Nicola and Kevin Wells looked drawn as they entered the parish church with hundreds of well-wishers. The vicar, the Reverend Tim Alban Jones, invited the congregation to lay candles in front of photographs of the two girls as an act of hope.

The girls, both wearing Manchester United football shirts, went missing after spending Sunday afternoon playing at Jessica's home. They were last seen walking towards the centre of town at 6.30pm, apparently to buy sweets.

Mrs Wells said: "If they were able to get to a phone or get any help, they would." Jessica's mother, Sharon, added: "She rings home even when she goes to the sweet shop. I don't allow her to go far. I don't understand why Jess didn't contact us to ask us if she could go out."

Superintendent Simon Edens said a team of 250 officers, some from forces in Hertfordshire, Essex and Northamptonshire, as well as the British Transport Police and the RAF, had been undertaking a "thorough and consistent" search of the area around Soham.

"It is a vast area and we are moving through it systematically, using intelligence and information from past inquiries. We have got the best equipment, the best experience and the best officers to deal with this case," he said.

Experts – including officers working on the inquiries into the missing Essex teenager Danielle Jones and the Surrey schoolgirl Amanda Dowler – have been called in to help. Using thermal imaging and other specialist equipment, they were combing nearby fields and waterways.

Supt Edens said that, while he appreciated the help of the local people, who joined in the initial search, it was now time for the specialists to take over. A more general search might inadvertently destroy evidence, he said. Nevertheless, he appealed to people to check any outbuildings. "We still believe there is a chance the girls are sheltering or hiding somewhere," he said.

Cambridgeshire Police also asked residents not to confuse people searching for the girls by allowing their children to wear red T-shirts. There have been 2,500 calls to a helpline so far.

The police said that an earlier sighting of two girls in the Little Thetford area on Monday, as well as a couple of other reported sightings, were not believed to be Jessica and Holly. Officers who interviewed bus drivers working that route did not find any corroboration of the reports, nor did CCTV footage provide any clues.

Officers disclosed that they had seized a white van seen driving around the area on Sunday night. The vehicle, taken from nearby Wentworth Caravan Park, was not believed to be significant, but it brought back uncomfortable echoes of the case of the murdered eight-year-old Sarah Payne.

As senior officers from that inquiry began helping with the investigation, there were obvious comparisons with the case of the girl found in a shallow grave after a 17-day hunt in Sussex two years ago.

Last night, Sarah Payne's mother, Sara, said: "I know exactly how these poor parents feel. It is agonising and it doesn't get much easier, but they must not give up hope."

Karen Darlow, a local hairdresser who knew both families and was particularly close to the Wells, said: "We all feel so much for their parents. Everyone in the village is walking around with sad faces. It seems so quiet with no children playing about."