England soccer ace David Beckham made an emotional plea to two 10-year-old girls who vanished from their homes in the Cambridgeshire Fens, Eastern England, on Tuesday, urging them to “go home”.
David’s statement, issued jointly with his Manchester United teammates who are in Denmark on a pre-season tour, said: “Please go home. You are not in any kind of trouble. Your parents love you deeply and want you back.”
Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman are both fans of David’s and were wearing replicas of his Manchester United shirt with the midfielder’s name and player number, seven, printed on the back when they disappeared in the village of Solham on Sunday evening. They were last seen at 6.30pm walking down a street near Holly’s home where they had been playing. It is thought they were on their way to buy sweets.
A huge search, involving 500 local people and more than 100 police officers failed to find a clue to the pair’s disappearance and officers now say it is increasingly likely they were abducted.
Detective Superintendent David Hankins, who is leading the investigation, said: “From the outset we thought this might be a prank, we thought there might have been an accident. Now we are sadly having to consider the possibility of an abduction. As each day and each hour passes, our concerns for the safety of Holly and Jessica increases. Sadly, this inquiry is rapidly turning from a missing persons inquiry to an investigation of criminal abduction.”
Officers have seized a white van in a caravan park about 10 miles from Solham, after reports that a man had been cruising the area at the time the girls went missing.
Nearly 2,000 calls have been received from the public so far and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
