Police have called off public searches of Savernake forest for missing Sian O’Callaghan after a ”significant” new lead emerged.
Coach loads of volunteers – including close pals of Sian – had been preparing to depart from Swindon and travel 12 miles to the dense woodland to search for the 22-year-old.
But Wiltshire Police cancelled the organised hunt at 9am this morning after revealing that a significant new line of enquiry had been established.
Det Supt Steve Fulcher, from Wiltshire Police, said: ”The enquiry moves on at a rapid pace with significant lines of enquiry being developed.
”The public have been fantastic in support of the search for Sian O Callaghan and I’m very grateful.
”I’ve been able to use new technological techniques to provide a tighter search parameter and have been able to rule out large areas of the six-and-a-half mile radius we have all been searching.
”Those tactics are being urgently progressed today by specialists.
”I may need further support from the public closer to the weekend but for now I would ask that people monitor the force website, media and social networks for my further requests if they are required.”
PA Sian has not been seen since leaving the Suju nightclub in Swindon, Wilts., at 2.50am on Saturday.
More than 400 members of the public turned up to search Savernake forest yesterday after officers revealed signal from her phone had been detected in the area.