Police fear two missing girls are in danger

BRITISH police hunting two 10-year-old girls who went missing at the weekend yesterday said they were becoming very worried about their safety.

Best friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman had been playing together all day and were last seen near Holly’s home in Soham, Cambridgeshire, at about 6.30pm on Sunday.

When her parents went to check on them in Holly’s upstairs bedroom at about 8.30pm they discovered the pair had vanished.

“We are extremely concerned about the whereabouts of both Holly and Jessica. There appears to be no reason why either girl would go off,” Inspector Simon Causer said. He added they had taken no change of clothing or money with them. Jessica was carrying a mobile phone but it has been switched off.

“Their disappearance is incredibly out of character, they haven't been missing before,” he said.

A police helicopter, dog teams and hundreds of local residents have carried out searches of the local area but have found no trace of the girls.

Both girls’ parents made an appeal for their daughters to come home yesterday. Jessica’s parents said their daughter was bright but not streetwise. Holly’s dad Kevin said it was reassuring the two girls were together.

“It’s a complete mystery. It’s so out of character,” Jessica’s father Leslie said.