5 October 2012
April Jones: Huge scale of search
around Machynlleth
By Carl Yapp BBC Wales
The scale of the search for five-year-old April Jones since she went missing from near her mid Wales home is daunting.
Machynlleth is a small market town, but it is surrounded by hundreds of miles of forests, forest tracks, hills, marshland and farmland.
Expert teams have been combing areas of thick forest around the the town.
Search teams gathered once again at first light on Friday to continue the hunt.
It’s posing a challenge to the people searching out there”
End Quote Gareth Jones, Machynlleth mayor Describing the terrain
Hundreds of volunteers have been helping the hunt during the week. Although police announced on Friday – at the same time that they said that Mark Bridger had been arrested on suspicion of murder – that they now no wanted only professionals to take part, some volunteers continued to join in.
The patch is rural and remote and popular with rally drivers and mountain bikers.
Machynlleth mayor Gareth Jones said: “It’s a very well known area for rallying and mountain biking and that’s the reason why it’s popular because of its vastness and its difficult terrain.
“It poses a challenge and it’s posing a challenge to the people searching out there.
“That’s why the police are asking for people with specialist knowledge to come here to assist – otherwise it could be more of a liability.”
April Jones has been missing since Monday nightThe town is surrounded by hills: the Wylfa, Pen yr Allt, and the 14,800-acre (6,000 hectare) Dyfi Forest, which is said to contain about 200 miles of forest tracks.
There are also rivers, a lake on top of one hill, and a number of abandoned mines between Machynlleth and Corris.
“There’s a lot of terrain to search,” Mr Jones said.
Abandoned mines
“Even though we are a small population it’s a big area.
“I would imagine the more people they’ve got available the less time it’s going to take. I know they’re working day and night in long shifts to cover all the area so they’re doing their utmost. I’m sure that they’ll be as quick and thorough as possible.”
Rhydian Mason, from Machynlleth, who is one of the search volunteers, said the terrain ranged from boggy marshland and rocky ranges to farmland.
“I’m not an expert,” he said. “I’m just a local person helping out.
“But yesterday we thought we covered quite a big patch, between the Wynford Vaughan Thomas viewpoint (near Dylife) and the far side of Dylife, but you come back here where the coordinators are and you look at it on the map where you’ve been and it’s nothing, which means we need to go again.
“If you were to search every nook and cranny it could take weeks.”
Dyfed-Powys Police have asked anyone with information to contact a dedicated hotline on 0300 2000 333.
Reblogged this on Lady Barefoot Baroness.
Too sad to think of how they will find her.
Its unbearable to think about and the reality is gut wrenching.
Praying there will be a miracle.
This is a gut-wrenching situation. A precious child is missing; her parents must be devastated.
I am at a loss as what to say. Other than, Not Again!
This is so sad! I cannot imagine her parents agony and despair!
Its impossible for us a loving parents to wrap our minds around. I stoped trying and just do this now instead. I hav neen a child advocate my entore adult life, starting out with 10 5th grade Camp Fire Girls when I was 21.
I cannot do today what I do (am also now a CASA) without getting a good dose of anger and a great deal of contempt. I don’t even care why anymore. Just that we as a world must find away to stop these creeps (read predators ) from taking our children away from us.
We are still making it too easy when a man can take a child in broad daylight, with people about. Nothing looking a miss.
See? Anger. Thanks for the vent. I needed that
No words.
Silence so understood..