The father of April Jones has passed away without ever finding his missing daughter’s body.
Paul Jones, the devastated dad of murdered schoolgirl April has died at the age of 56 - almost 13 years after the five-year-old was snatched from outside the family home.
Mr Jones, who suffered from encephalitis - a serious condition that causes swelling on the brain - passed away on Tuesday morning (May 13) at a specialist home in Swansea where he was being cared for
Five-year-old April had been playing on her bike outside the family home in Machynlleth, mid Wales, when she was kidnapped.
She was killed by paedophile Mark Bridger in October 2012 but he refused to tell police what he had done with her body.
Officers only recovered fragments of her skull from his fireplace but the rest of her body - which was believed to have been scattered around countryside - was never found.
Now her father, Mr Jones, has passed away.
Paying tribute, Paul's step-daughter Jazz Jones wrote on Facebook on Tuesday: “It is with broken hearts that my brother and I wish to let people know our dad (Paul Jones) passed away in the early hours of this morning .
“It was very unexpected and we are all in shock.”
Here is a timeline of the key events since five-year-old April Jones went missing.
Monday October 1, 2012
7pm - April isplaying with friends in the mid-Wales town of Machynlleth when she goesmissing. According to witnesses she is taken away in a van or a four-wheeldrive vehicle and there are no apparent signs of a struggle.
10.30pm - DyfedPowys Police issue a statement saying: "We are increasingly concerned fora missing five-year-old, April, who was last seen playing on her bike inMachynlleth at about 7.30pm. April was seen getting into a light-coloured vanas it drove off." Hundreds of local volunteers join the search for thelittle girl, and publicity is raised on Twitter and Facebook.
Tuesday October 2, 2012
8.30am - Policereveal more information about the circumstances of April's disappearance. Theforce said: "Her abduction took place around 7pm in the Bryn-y-Gog estatein Machynlleth. It was witnessed by another young child when April was seengetting into a grey or light-coloured van, or van-sized vehicle.
"At the timeof her disappearance, April was wearing a purple knee-length coat with grey furaround the hood, her school white polo top and black trousers."
Local support forthe search effort continues, with binmen downing tools to help. A leisurecentre is used as a co-ordination point.
12pm - DetectiveSuperintendent Reg Bevan, from Dyfed Powys Police, tells reporters it appearsApril got into the vehicle willingly. Officers are tackling the "delicateand time-consuming" task of speaking to the children who were with Aprilaround the time she was kidnapped, he says.
He also raises thepossibility that the vehicle could be left-hand drive, as it appeared thatApril had got into the driver's side.
Police say theywant to make sure that search volunteers are used in a co-ordinated way.
4.30pm - Policeannounce that a 46-year-old man has been arrested in connection with April'sabduction. Mr Bevan says he was detained at about 3.30pm while walking alongthe side of the road a couple of miles outside Machynlleth. He lives locallyand has a vehicle similar to the one described by witnesses who saw April'sabduction, Mr Bevan says. He also says the vehicle has been recovered. He saysthe police's priority is finding April alive.
6pm - A specialvigil service is held at St Peter's Church in Machynlleth, where prayers aresaid and candles lit for the safe return of the five-year-old.
7.45pm - It emergesthat the man arrested over the abduction of April is known to her family.
8pm - He is namedby sources as Mark Bridger, 46.
9.30pm - April's familyrelease a statement through police, saying their lives have been"shattered".
The statement, readby Mr Bevan, says: "Last night our lives were shattered when our beautifullittle girl April who was playing with friends was taken from us. We are devastatedand our lives have stopped. Please, please if you have our little girl, let hercome home to us."
Wednesday October 3, 2012
7.30am - Police saythe overnight search, involving 40 trained police officers, dog handlers andmountain rescue teams, has yielded no news on April's whereabouts.Superintendent Ian John thanks the public for their efforts and warns of the"challenging conditions", asking people to leave the search to"members of our trained and skilled teams".
10.30am - Policerelease a photograph of Mark Bridger, 46, and confirm his identity to "endspeculation". They also release a photograph of his Land Rover Discovery,which was seized from a repair garage in Machynlleth.
12.30pm - April'smother Coral Jones makes an emotional plea for any information that will helpin the search. Ms Jones, who was accompanied by her stepfather, Dai Smith,sobbed as she said: "It's been 36 hours since April was taken from us.There must be someone out there who knows where she is and can help the policefind her. We are desperate for any news. April is only five years old. Please,please, help find her."
6.30pm - It isrevealed that April Jones regularly played with the daughters of Bridger, whois being questioned about her disappearance.
6.40pm - It emergesthat Bridger's son joined the search for April before his father was arrestedby police. Scott Williams says he has been estranged from his 46-year-oldfather for most of his life and only met him a couple of months before Aprildisappeared.
11.30pm Detectivesare given an extra 12 hours to question Bridger.
Thursday October 4, 2012
5.30pm -Superintendent Ian John says he is "very heartened" after the forcereceives more than 2,500 phone calls with information and investigators remain"determined" to find April.
11am Police appealsaying they are trying to "piece together" Bridger's movements aroundthe time the five-year-old disappeared, as he is interviewed again.
4.30pm - Pinkribbons appear on homes across Machynlleth in a heartfelt show of solidarityfor missing April, following an appeal from her mother for people to wear apink ribbon.
Friday October 5, 2012
10.30am - Mr Bevanreveals Bridger is arrested on suspicion of murder.
12pm - It isrevealed that murder suspect Mark Bridger attended the same school parents'evening - at Ysgol Gynradd Machynlleth - as April's mother and father justhours before the five-year-old disappeared.
Saturday October 6, 2012
3.40pm Bridger ischarged with the abduction and murder of April.
Sunday October 7, 2012
11am - Hundreds ofpeople turn out to pay their respects at an emotional church service at StPeter's Church, Machynlleth after a procession of more than 700 people walkslowly through the Welsh town.
Monday October 8, 2012
10am - Bridger isdue to appear at Aberystwyth Magistrates' Court to face charges of murder,kidnap and perverting the course of justice. He pleads not guilty, is remanded in custody and a trial date is set for the new year.
April 29, 2013
Bridger’s trial begins.
During hearings, experts tell the court that fragments of human bone consistent with a "younger individual" had been found in the fireplace of Bridger's cottage.
Blood was also found throughout his home which matched with April’s DNA. What was found in his home was enough to charge Bridger with her murder, despite her body never being recovered.
He claimed in defence that he had run April over, and could not remember disposing of her body due to being under the influence of alcohol and being in a state of panic.
The trial lasts a month.
May 30, 2013
After retiring to find a verdict, a jury finds Bridger guilty of all counts.
Later that day, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order.
After the verdict, it was revealed that Bridger had confessed to the Strangeways prison chaplain that he had disposed of April's body in the fast-flowing Afon Dulas, which flows past Bridger's house before terminating in the River Dyfi near Machynlleth. Dyfed-Powys Police have said they doubt Bridger's claims and believe he scattered April's remains across the countryside near his house.
September 26, 2013
Despite April’s body never being found, 17 fragments of bone were recovered from the fireplace in Bridger's cottage and her funeral was held - almost a year after the tragic murder.
August 4, 2014
Mark Bridger's cottage in Ceinws, where April is believed to have been killed, is purchased by the Welsh Government for £149,000. The cottage had been empty since Bridger's arrest nearly two years earlier. It was later demolished in November 2014, while her family watched.
