http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/oct/04/april-jones-search-mark-bridger?newsfeed=truePolice investigating the disappearance of five-year-old April Jones have been granted extra time to question the man arrested on suspicion of her abduction.
A court has ruled that detectives can hold Mark Bridger until 5pm on Friday. At that point they would have to charge him, release him or go back before the court to ask for more time. In all, police could be given 96 hours to speak to Bridger, which would take them through to Saturday.
The prime minister, David Cameron, has issued an appeal for information about April, who was apparently abducted on Monday evening while playing with friends near her home in Machynlleth, mid-Wales. It emerged on Wednesday that April has cerebral palsy.
Cameron said: "My heart just goes out to April's family. This is every family's nightmare, having this happen and the fact that she suffers from cerebral palsy, something I know a little about from my own children, only makes this worse.
"My appeal would be to everyone, if you know anything, if you saw anything, heard anything, have any ideas you can bring forward, talk to the police, help this family find their lovely child."
At a press conference, Detective Superintendent Reg Bevan said the investigative team would interview 46-year-old Bridger again on Thursday.
He said: "We will be continuing to piece together his movements and looking to overlay what we glean from his interviews, witness accounts and sightings.
"While there is a huge visible presence of police officers and search teams, there is also a significant team of officers working around the clock behind the scenes, assisting in developing that picture so we can map out to the best of our ability his movements.
"This includes a vast amount of forensic analysis taking place, which forms a crucial part of the investigation. However, forensics alone will not solve this. We need information from the public which may help us find April."
Bevan said police were tracing the movements of Bridger between 6.30pm on Monday – shortly before April was last seen – and 3.30pm on Tuesday when he was arrested.
The officer said that if anyone had any sort of contact with him they should come forward. "By contact I mean any contact – including face to face, telephone, text or social media," he said.
Bevan also asked for information regarding the movements of Bridger's blue Land Rover Discovery between Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon.
As Bevan made his appeal, hundreds of Machynlleth residents headed to the hills around the town to carry out their own searches.
The police put out a statement on Thursday morning saying they did not need volunteers to help.
But nevertheless local people gathered at the town's leisure centre and said they would go out to search even if the police said they were not needed.
One of the organisers, the Network Rail worker Carl Jones, said they were talking to officers and would avoid areas they were asked to stay clear of.
He said some people were frustrated that the police seemed to be only targeting the immediate area around Machynlleth. He said he felt the search ought to cover a wider area. They were planning to visit around 32 hamlets and settlements around the town.
At the police press conference Superintendent Ian John said police were "appreciative" of the support from volunteers who "desperately want to assist in the search to find April".
He said the force was now consulting with the National Police Search Centre to see how to best use the untrained community volunteers to help.
John emphasised that the police had to co-ordinate the search to ensure its integrity, adding: "Under police co-ordination we can use volunteers at the right time, in the right place and utilise appropriate skills. This will maximise opportunities and prevent people attending when there may not be readily available tasks."
On Wednesday police took the unusual step of naming the man they were holding. They released a photograph of Bridger and his left-hand drive Land Rover and appealed for help in piecing together his movements since April vanished.
When he was arrested he was wearing a green camouflage jacket and black waterproof trousers over camouflage trousers. His Land Rover was found at a nearby repair garage.
At lunchtime on Wednesday April's mother, Coral, 40, made a heart-wrenching appeal for information. "There must be someone out there who knows where she is and can help the police find her. We are desperate for any news," she said.
"April is only five years old. Please, please, help find her."
Bridger was born in Sutton, south London. He has lived in Machynlleth for more than 25 years, for a time on the estate where April's family live. The Ministry of Defence is checking reports that Bridger is a former soldier.
Residents said he worked as a lifeguard at Machynlleth leisure centre. He married in 1990 and is the father of at least three children; one with his ex-wife – a boy who is now 20 – and another boy and girl, 12 and 10, by another partner. One of the places police were searching was a whitewashed farmhouse five miles north of Machynlleth, where Bridger had been living for a few weeks.
Meanwhile, pink ribbons began appearing around the town, including on the fence outside April's family home. The girl's godmother, Mair Raftree, said the family wanted people to wear April's favourite colour.
