17/08/02 - Days blur into one, but the pain remains
By Ian Cobain and Adam Fresco
The Times

FOR the parents of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, the already unbearable strain of waiting for news of their lost daughters was stretched to breaking point last night.

Only five hours before the Soham Village College caretaker Ian Huntley and his partner Maxine Carr were being questioned by police about the girls’ disappearance, the parents spoke of how the past 12 days have blurred into one.

The girls’ mothers were clearly numbed by the events that they have had to endure, including having to wait all night to see if their children were buried in what appeared to be shallow graves. But they said they were clinging to the hope that their children were still alive.

Sharon Chapman fought back her tears as she described the waiting for news. “Time does not mean anything any more, it just rolls into one: hours into days and, before you know it, it is dark again,” she said. “You don’t realise the day has gone, sometimes.”

She also told of the thing she missed most about her daughter being at home: “It is the noise level. It is so quiet now, so quiet. Even though there are loads of people coming in and out, it is so quiet.”

Kevin Wells, Holly’s father, said that the past two weeks had been surreal. Clutching his wife’s hand, he said: “The days blend into one another. It seems extraordinary we are approaching another Sunday. “We have piles of newspapers ready to read when there is a positive end to this, and the piles grow bigger every day.

It has been extremely difficult — and that may be an understatement.” But he said the families would never give up hope that their daughters would be returned to them safe and well. His wife, Nicola, 35, sat in silence and was virtually motionless, with her hands folded neatly in her lap.

She seemed to gulp for air at one point and open her mouth to speak, but no sound was heard and she simply nodded her agreement as her husband spoke of the support they had received from police and the community of Soham, Cambridgeshire.

Both families said they had been overwhelmed by the support of the people of Soham and fully supported everything the police were doing in the hunt for the ten-year-olds. Mrs Chapman, 43, said the fact that the girls could have been taken by someone living in the small town was “just another thing we have to think about”.

Her husband, Leslie, 51, said that there was only one person, maybe two, who knew where their children were and he appealed for them to be given back. “They are not your children, they are ours, and we want them back.”

He added: “They (our children) have done nothing wrong. We love them dearly and we want them back. Their brothers and sisters want them back. We are still looking for them and we will not give up.”

Mr Wells, 38, said that both sets of parents had asked detectives to keep them fully informed of everything that was happening as the families wanted to remain completely involved in the hunt for their children. “We have an absolute desire to have the information first-hand.

The first few days we were able to help in the searches. We feel a bit distant now. We need to keep involved,” he said. As the families spoke of their grief, a videotaped message to the two girls from Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of Manchester United, was being sent by helicopter from Old Trafford to Soham.

The video also showed 21 members of the United squad holding aloft a banner reading the message “Help find Holly and Jessica. Please call 01480 422982”. Sir Alex said: “Every player here is hoping and praying that Jessica and Holly come out soon.

Our hearts go out to their families. No one can imagine what this must be like for them. “I am asking you, the public, to support the police and contact them if you have any information. Everyone around me wants the girls home, where they belong. You can help make that happen.”

Search of house and college 'will take days, not hours'

AS A search of the caretaker’s house, Soham Village College and a local school began yesterday, police said that the operation was likely to take several days, not hours (writes Helen Studd).

Minutes after the families had been informed that a search was imminent, police officers were filing into Ian Huntley’s house, which was quickly cordoned off. Mr Huntley and his girlfriend, Maxine Carr, gave them permission to search the detached, two-storey property, which is inside the grounds of the college.

Last night the search was extended to the grounds of Soham Village College and St Andrew’s Primary School, which the girls attend. The college has already been searched four times in the past 12 days. Superintendent Simon Edens, who is leading the search, said: “Trained police search officers have entered a house in the Soham area to conduct a search in relation to the missing girls.

This search follows an earlier visual check by detectives. It will include the village college and it may continue throughout the weekend. We are clearly entering a critical stage in this particular inquiry.” Mr Edens said he had brought in police officers highly trained in searches with “equipment which enables them to be very thorough”. Police asked the press and public to let officers work undisturbed.