England - Two arrested over missing girls' murder

Two people have been arrested in connection with the murders of missing schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Police said that on Saturday a 28-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of abduction and murder, and a 25-year-old woman was being held on suspicion of murder.

Yesterday a school caretaker and his fiance were questioned by police, hunting for the girls who have not yet been found.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Hebb told reporters in Soham that police had recovered items of "major importance" from Soham College.

He said the items had been preserved at the scene and would be subject to forensic examinations.

The two people have been taken to separate police stations in Cambridgeshire to be questioned.

The man even gave interviews to BBC acting really worried about the girls. Here are more details from The Independent:

Man and woman arrested for murder of missing Jessica and Holly
By Terri Judd and Cahal Milmo
17 August 2002
Internal links

Couple arrested by police in hunt for Holly and Jessica

Inquiry turns full circle as police focus on schools

'Give them back. Just give them back. Put an end to all of this for them,' parents plead
A 28-year-old man and 25-year-old woman were today arrested in connection with the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells.

Police searching for the girls said they had recovered items of "major importance" from Soham Village College, in the Cambridgeshire village where the girls lived, but no bodies have yet been found.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Hebb said the man had been arrested for the murder and abduction of the 10-year-olds, while the woman had been arrested for their murders.

The couple were arrested in the early hours and are being held at separate police stations in the county.

Police continued detailed searches, which may last for several days, of grounds and buildings at the college.

The arrests came after detectives spent almost seven hours yesterday quizzing college caretaker Ian Huntley, aged 28, and his girlfriend Maxine Carr, aged 25, at separate police stations. Ms Carr was a teaching assistant in the grils class at St Andrews primary school which has also been searched.

Police using specialist equipment searched the couple's home near the college. Detectives have called in help from Mark Harrison, a search specialist from Bedfordshire Police who was involved in the hunt for missing Sussex teenager Millie Dowler and missing Essex teenager Danielle Jones.

The couple left the police stations shortly after 10pm and later told Sky News that they were "fine", but were not heading back to their house, where the search continued through the night.

Detectives have called in help from Mark Harrison, a search specialist from Bedfordshire Police who was involved in the hunt for missing Sussex teenager Millie Dowler and missing Essex teenager Danielle Jones.

Within days of the girls' disappearance almost two weeks ago, Mr Huntley gave police a statement in which he said he believed he was the last person to speak to Holly and Jessica before the final confirmed sightings of them. He described them as appearing "as happy as Larry". Days later, Ms Carr showed photographers a poignant card that Holly had drawn as a "thank you" to her on the final day of term at St Andrew's last month.

Shortly before 3.40pm yesterday, four plainclothes officers arrived at the couple's house and took them away in separate cars. Cambridgeshire police cordoned off the small brick house. At 6.30pm, 10 uniformed officers arrived to begin the search.

The searches were launched hours after Det Ch Insp Hebb said: "I do believe the piece of the jigsaw we're looking for lies in or very close to Soham. We continue to work 24 hours a day to find that piece of evidence and to give us the breakthrough we desperately want."

The development was thought to have stemmed from information given at a meeting of residents on Thursday and from police intelligence. Last night, police extended a cordon around the couple's home. The couple had recently moved to Soham from Grimsby, Lincolnshire.

Wendy Dobson, aged 32, whose two older children attended the school, described Mr Huntley as "really friendly towards the children. He is very 'hip-hop'."

Ms Dobson said Mr Huntley had been among those helping search for Holly and Jessica on the night they disappeared. With two other men, he had taken his German shepherd dog around the perimeter of the school. He also helped at Thursday's community meeting held at the school. "He was putting out the chairs and waltzing about on stage,'' Ms Dobson said.

On 4 August, the night the girls went missing, they were recorded on closed-circuit television at 6.17pm at a sports centre next to the school, where police believe they had gone to buy sweets. Mr Huntley said that, minutes later, as he was washing his dog outside the house, he looked up to see the two girls. He said Holly and Jessica had asked after his partner, Ms Carr. The last sighting of the girls was at 7.20pm in Soham High Street.

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