General Chat

The ribbons are there because the child is still missing John , that is NOTHING TO SMILE ABOUT .

I nudged thread because Bridger will be in court this week. I saw 3 ribbons in my home town which is 3 hours drive from Machynlleth. I thought it lovely that there should stil be 3 fresh pink ribbons still. There probably will be more. I saw three.

Yes, they made me smile. People are still very much thinking of her and her family. And the search teams:-) :-)

God Bless the sweet little girl and give comfort to her family and friends.

Only 3 ribbons,how sad and unsupportive of the people of P/pandy.

Coco - why have you "nudged" this thread? Your actions are sometimes totally inappropriate and unthoughtful

exactly Sandie - why on earth would anyone put a smiley face for seeing three pink ribbons = insensitive in the extreme

poor little soul, and poor parents

Could you not have said you saw the pink ribbons in your home town ! John,
Your wording is rather insenstitve. IMO

God bless little April I fear that she will not be found.
I can't begin to think how her distaught parents must be feeling then and now. :-( :-(

Mark Bridger appears in court on 11th Jan. Search for April still ongoing.

Saw three pink ribbons last week in Pontypandy :-)

and there are still teams of police looking for her

N,

The town has a pink star which is going to be lite for the duration of the towns christmas lights which have been turned on,,,,,,,the 1st tomorrow,,,,,,8 weeks since April went missing on 1st October.

I'm sure no one has forgotten this little mite....... :-(

I thought at the start kids said she got in a white van??? but then Mark Bridger blue car came into it.
confused .com

April Jones police force investigating new child kidnap attempt
23 Oct 2012 00:00

Detectives are hunting a man in a white van who grabbed a nine-year-old boy’s arm on his way to school


The police force searching for missing April Jones is investigating another attempted child abduction.

Detectives are hunting a man in a white van who grabbed a nine-year-old boy’s arm on his way to school yesterday morning.

The youngster wriggled free and escaped in the village of Llandybie, Carmarthenshire, 70 miles from Machynlleth where five-year-old April disappeared three weeks ago.

Dyfed-Powys police are not linking the two cases.

Mark Bridger, 46, is charged with April’s murder.

A police spokeswoman said of yesterday’s attack: “There is no description of the man.

"Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact police immediately.”

Did you see church in Machynlleth lit up in pink lighting last night.? 3 weeks since April disappeared.

Search still at full strength and area still united in support for the search and for April's family and close friends.

Let's pray and hope for a result soon.

Sky News this evening

"The search for missing April Jones could continue until Christmas and beyond, police have said.

Major search efforts to find the five-year-old schoolgirl are ongoing, and Dyfed Powys Police say the hunt may not end for months.

"We said goodbye to 150 officers this morning and they've been replaced by another 150 specialists," Superintendent Ian John said, speaking from April's home town of Machynlleth.

"Numbers may fluctuate a bit on a daily basis, but whilst we still have viable lines of inquiry, we will continue to search.

"We could still be here at Christmas or the new year, we could be finished in two weeks."

He added: "The numbers involved in searching are always under review.

"Hopefully we will find April soon. We are not going anywhere until we have done our job.

"We are here for the long-term if we need to be."

He said that specialist searches from 16 separate police forces were helping in the ongoing hunt for April.

They were backed up by fire service urban area search and rescue teams, hazardous area search teams and teams from the ambulance service.

Mountain rescue teams were brought back in over the weekend as different terrain was encountered and closely searched.

Specialists capable of working in confined areas such as pot holes, caves and mine shafts are used when needed.

Hazards for which the experts need to be prepared include encountering gases such as methane which have built up.

While a myriad of tunnels and shafts are explored underground, commercial volunteers are helping with aerial searches.

Private planes full of technology otherwise unavailable to the police have been helping to spot promising areas to search.

Sonar technology and specialist equipment which can pinpoint heat signatures from the air are being used. The data it produces is closely examined and used to target specific areas to search.

April was last seen on October 1 on the Bryn-y-Gog estate where she lived."

Just returned from driving through town. There are pink ribbons everywhere.

I hope they do find her soon.

Search for April still in full swing this week. 14 days today since she went missing. Let us hope for news.

Thoughts with family and friends. And those searching (over 100 skilled men and women) and those supporting them with food and laundry.

Very timely reminder, Sue. Their morale today will be rock bottom. Has been horrendous in S Wales today also, but think it should be drier tomorrow and across weekend.

Please spare a thought for April's family and the search teams. We have areas of flooding here today a bit further South.

If the river they have been searching has risen again it must be soul destroying.

Sue

From http://www.guardian.co.uk/

On Monday Bridger made his first appearance in public since his arrest, when he was taken before magistrates in Aberystwyth. A crowd gathered outside court and the van in which he was travelling was attacked as it arrived and departed. Bridger's eyes filled with tears as the charges were read out.

Magistrates said the charges were so serious that the case would have to be dealt with in a crown court. He was remanded into custody and driven to HMP Manchester, formerly known as Strangeways.

Mark Leonard Bridger, 46, remained in prison in Manchester rather than appearing in person at the brief preliminary hearing at Caernarfon crown court in north-west Wales.

*

So he initially appeared at a Magistrates Court who immediately refered him to a Crown Court.

From Supercrutch's link

The first hearing at Crown Court after committal is the plea and case management hearing (“PCMH”). A PCMH takes place in every case in the Crown Court, and its purpose is to ensure that all necessary steps have been taken in preparation for trial and sufficient information has been provided for a trial date to be arranged. The judge is required to exercise a managerial role with a view to progressing the case.

*
This stage of the proceedings is rarely mentioned in the media.

Sorry, must have been a higher court. Come to think, he did have a wig. It was a horrible case about child abuse, and was one of the low points of my life. :-(

Was hoping for something a bit more exciting. Not something that still gives me the heeby jeebies 20 years later.