Missing girls

Cambridgeshire, U.K.

The furor over child abductions spread to Britain last week, after two 10-year-old girls were reported kidnapped. Best friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were last seen by their parents during a neighborhood barbecue. They were both wearing red Manchester United jerseys sporting the number of soccer hunk David Beckham. Police and friends searched for days with no leads. Then this week, a cab driver who was on duty in the area the day the girls disappeared said he saw two young girls in a car driven by a white man with a “Mediterranean” appearance. He said the man was struggling with the girls and the car was swerving erratically. The case has captured national attention, leading the news almost every night and dominating talk shows.