Search for missing April Jones called off

THE search for missing schoolgirl April Jones has been officially called off, police said yesterday.

The five-year old was last seen playing on her bike on Machynlleth’s Bryn-y-Gog estate, where she lived, on the evening of 1 October last year.

Her disappearance sparked an outpouring of support for her parents, and a search involving hundreds of people, including specialist officers.

However, Dyfed Powys Police yesterday announced that the exhaustive search operation had drawn to a close.

Less than a week after she vanished, detectives charged 47-year-old local man Mark Bridger with child abduction, perverting the course of justice and murder.

He is due to stand trial next week at Mold Crown Court.