April Jones

**April Sue-Lyn Jones** (April 4, 2007 – c. October 1, 2012) was a Welsh child from Machynlleth, Powys, who disappeared on 1 October 2012, after being sighted getting into a vehicle near her home. The disappearance of April Jones, aged five, generated a large amount of national and international press coverage. A 46-year-old English man, Mark Bridger, was subsequently arrested and convicted.

On the evening of 1 October 2012, April Jones attended swimming lessons at a local leisure centre while her mother and father attended a parents' evening at her school. Afterwards, April invited a friend from school, aged seven, to come to her house to watch the film *Tangled*. After that, April pleaded with her parents to allow her to play with her friend outside despite the late hour. April's parents eventually gave in, with her mother telling the girl that she did not want April to be out for too long. April Jones was last seen by her parents, riding her small pink bicycle, at approximately 7pm. At 7.15pm, Jones was playing with her friends at the Bryn-y-Gog housing estate in Machynlleth.

Approximately 20 minutes after allowing April to leave the house, her mother Coral set out to search for her. At 7.29pm, having been unable to find her daughter, Coral dialled 999 to report April missing and summoned an officer from the Dyfed–Powys Police. The first officer on the scene spoke to a child witness who reported seeing April climbing into a grey van. The Dyfed–Powys Police immediately upgraded the investigation to a "critical incident" and launched a massive search across Machynlleth. Scores of civilians, some alerted by social networks, joined in the search, with the number swelling into the hundreds by the early morning hours of 2 October.

On 3 October 2012, April’s mother made an appeal for information about her daughter. The following day, Prime Minister David Cameron also issued an appeal to the public, commenting that "clearly having this happen to you, 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." In the days following her disappearance, a large search operation for April was mounted around the Machynlleth area, involving police and search and rescue teams using specialised equipment, as well as hundreds of volunteers. On 12 December, police stated that the search for April would continue into 2013.

Mark Bridger, a 46-year-old local man, was arrested on the afternoon of 2 October 2012, less than 24 hours after April went missing. He became a suspect in the case because he matched a description of the man and the vehicle, a left-hand drive Land Rover Discovery which an eyewitness had seen April entering following a conversation with the man. On 5 October 2012, police officially designated the case a murder inquiry; even though a body had not been found, this was the first indication that the police now had reason to believe that April Jones was dead. Sky News presenter Kay Burley was accused of insensitivity after breaking the news of Jones' probable death live on-air to volunteers who had been searching for her. The interviewees were unaware the case had changed from a search for a missing person into a murder inquiry.

On 6 October, Bridger was charged with child abduction, murder, and attempting to pervert the course of justice. He appeared before magistrates at Aberystwyth on 8 October, where he was additionally charged with the unlawful concealment and disposal of a body. He was remanded into custody and held at HMP Manchester pending an appearance at Caernarfon Crown Court, which occurred on 10 October via videolink. On 14 January 2013, at Mold Crown Court, Bridger pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering April Jones, but accepted that he was "probably responsible" for her death. The trial was to begin on 25 February at Mold Crown Court, but it was adjourned until 29 April at the request of Bridger's defence team in order to make further inquiries.

On 27 March 2013, police revealed that they would call off the search after another month of being unable to locate her body, and on 22 April, police confirmed that the search had officially ended. The police stated that "a reactive team of specialist officers are available to respond to any new information that is received". This was the largest missing person search in UK police history.On 30 May 2013, Bridger was found guilty of April's abduction and murder, in addition to perverting the course of justice. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life tariff, meaning he will never be released. Fly High, April