Police and emergency services are
continuing their search for missing five-year-old girl April Jones.
Supt Ian John said there was no news on April's whereabouts but a "methodical" search was under way. He said volunteers were no longer needed.
April was with friends near her Machynlleth home when she got into a van at 19:00 BST on Monday.
Police are still questioning a 46-year-old man and anticipate intelligence from interviews will drive the search wkooo.
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We are extremely concerned about large numbers of members of the public
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.
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.
"So what I am asking really is - notwithstanding the
great support and the commitment that people want to show in helping us to find
April - can we please leave this now to the trained and skilled people that we
have?
"I don't want those officers to be distracted by the well-intentioned and enthusiastic support."
Mr John said experience suggested any breakthrough in the search for April would be at a local level, and the search is still centred on areas around the market town.
"It is likely that we are going to find somebody in the search parameter where she was last seen," he added.
Timeline
Monday 1 October
- 19:00 BST The alarm is raised in Machynlleth, Powys, after April Jones, five, who was playing on her bike, is seen by friends getting into a light-coloured grey van
- 20:00 BST Hundreds join the hunt and police release pictures of her
- 09:00 BST Search resumes with hundreds helping
- Police set up roadblocks and hand out leaflets
- 12:00 BST Detectives believe April got into vehicle "willingly"
- 16:30 BST Police close 12 mile stretch of A487 road north of Machynlleth
- 16:45 BST 46-year-old local man arrested
- 16:55 BST Police say they are hopeful April is still alive
- 18:00 BST Candlelight vigil praying for safe return of April held at St Peter's Church
- 18:15 BST Police confirm man was held north of town
- 21:30 BST Family statement appealing for April's safe return is read out
- 22:00 BST Police confirm the man was driving a left-hand drive Land-Rover car
- Police continue search overnight with more than 40 specialist officers, including dog handlers
- 07:30 BST Police ask the public to leave searches to trained officers
Volunteers from across the country have joined in the
search, and some people arrived at Machynlleth leisure centre before 07:00 BST
on Wednesday, but were turned away.
On Tuesday, April's family said they were "shattered" by her disappearance.
A statement, describing April as a "beautiful little girl, said: "Please, please if you have our little girl, let her come home to us."
The 46-year-old arrested man is in custody at Aberystwyth Police Station.
He was arrested at about 16:00 BST on the A487 main road north out of Machynlleth, which remains closed in both directions as far as Cross Foxes, near Dolgellau, 12 miles away.
Police now expect intelligence arising from interviews with the man in custody to drive the search operation.
'Tremendous response'
Officers said the man they were holding lived locally and had been sought by police.
Det Supt Reg Bevan described him as a "significant individual", and said a vehicle police had recovered - a Land Rover Discovery - belonged to him, and was "similar to the description given by the children wkooo forum."
The A487 road remains closed as
the search continues Supt John confirmed on Tuesday that that the man in custody possessed a left-hand drive Land Rover.
However, he said it would be wrong to assume it was the vehicle they had been looking for.
He said: "Certainly, we were looking for a vehicle matching that description. The vehicle is of extreme interest to us, as is the gentleman in custody."
April's godmother Mair Raftree, 41, from Aberystwyth, who has helped with the efforts to find her, said: "She's a quiet girl, and an important member of her family.
She would never go with anybody and ask for a lift. We just want her back safely."
On Wednesday, Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "My heart goes out to the family of April Jones and obviously I hope there can be a successful outcome to the search for her."
Describing April, sweet shop owner Alyson Jones said: "She's a typical little five-year-old.
"She's bright-eyed and polite and loves coming into the shop with her family to choose her sweets.
"It's just devastating that we can't find her."
She added: "I feel like running to the shop and tearing it apart to see if there's anything I've missed."
A further news conference is expected on Wednesday afternoon nike air max pas cher.
Dyfed-Powys Police have asked anyone with information to contact a dedicated hotline on 0300 2000 333.
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