Motorists stopped in missing girls search

Police tried to jog drivers' memories in Soham

Exactly a week after Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman went missing, police have been questioning motorists passing through the girls' home town.

Between 1700 and 1900 BST on Sunday, officers flagged down 700 cars in Soham, in an area where they were last seen, to ask drivers if they had made the same journey the previous week and seen anything suspicious.

The move followed a service at the local church, attended by the girls' families, during which prayers were said for Jessica and Holly.

It is only by information from the public that we are going to solve this case

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Hebb

Police say they have received more than 7,500 calls from the public since the girls went missing on 4 August, including 500 since a reconstruction was staged in Soham on Saturday 10 August.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Hebb told BBC News police were pursuing hundreds of lines of inquiry following the huge public response for information.

He said: "We are disappointed we have not found Jessica and Holly at this time.

"We remain optimistic that they are alive and we are doing everything we possibly can to get them returned safely to their parents.

"It is only by information from the public that we are going to solve this case.

"We have got to keep encouraging the public to ring in.

"If they have anything at all for us, please ring our hotline number."

Extra officers

More than 300 officers and support staff are involved in the operation to find the two girls, whom police believe are still alive and being held captive.

Neighbouring forces of Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Hertfordshire and Suffolk have helped with the investigation, for which extra officers have been drafted in.

A man in his 30s and a second man in his late 40s arrested for allegedly refusing to cooperate with the police investigation have both been released without charge.

People attending a service at St Andrew's church, Soham, on Sunday morning were asked to pray for the 10-year-olds and think of their parents.

Vicar said prayers for girls

Both Holly and Jessica's families attended the service, after which, Holly's father Kevin said the families were trying to remain optimistic and that the "tremendous support" of local people was helping them cope.

The Reverend Tim Alban Jones said the upheaval caused by the investigation was difficult for everyone in the town, but for the parents "this living nightmare must seem unending".

During what he described as the most difficult sermon he had ever written he said: "We're not used to being the centre of the country's attention and it is a distinctly uncomfortable feeling to be so sharply in the focus of the news spotlight for such dreadful reason."

Many of the extra officers drafted in to help with the investigation worked through the night on Saturday to assess the response to the reconstruction of their last known movements.

Internet fears

On Saturday, two young actresses retraced the girls' last known steps from Holly's house to the town's war memorial, where they were last seen at around 1845 BST last Sunday.

Police have examined the possibility that the girls could have arranged to meet someone via email, an internet chat room or using their mobile phones.

Computers from both girls' homes were examined but showed no evidence of contact with strangers on the night the girls went missing.

Holly and Jessica have been missing for a week

They were using the Internet between 1711 BST and 1735 BST last Sunday but did not use chatrooms or emails, police said, although detectives are still examining websites and emails the girls have used in the past few weeks.

The girls left Holly's home, where the Wells were having a barbecue, some time after 1735 BST and Mrs Wells realised they were gone when she called up to them as guests were leaving.

Holly and Jessica, who were wearing Manchester United shirts, are white, about 4ft 6in tall and slim.

Jessica is tanned and has shoulder-length brown hair while Holly is fair and has blonde hair.

Anyone with information should call police on 01480 422982.