Sarah: 2 held

As the hunt for the missing eight-year-old continued, Sussex Police revealed for the first time that they arrested one man on Sunday evening, 24 hours after Sarah vanished.

The man in his forties and said to be local has been held for questioning and police have applied to magistrates to detain him further.

The second man, in his thirties and not thought to be local, was arrested last night.

Detective Superintendent Alan Ladley said: "Do not be surprised if we have to announce further arrests."

As the hunt went on, Sarah's mother today made a direct appeal to the abductor she believes has snatched her child.

Sara Payne pleaded: "Drop her at the end of the road."

She added: "She's our baby. Just bring her home, drop her at the end of the road, put her somewhere she can be found.

"I don't care about you, I just want my baby, just drop her somewhere she can be found. Let her walk away from you, please.

"It's getting harder with every minute, but we are optimistic that we are going to find her. We need Sarah, we need her.

"I know she will be very, very frightened, very, very frightened indeed. She's a very soft little girl, she's perfect, and right now she will be very scared and frightened.

Bar worker Mrs Payne, 31, added during her televised appeal: "If she's watching now, we're coming to find you darling, as soon as we can, we will be there."

She spoke as the Argus offered a £5,000 reward for information leading to Sarah's safe return.

Argus editor Simon Bradshaw said: "We must do all we can to see Sarah back safely with her family."

The reward was welcomed by Sussex police.

Hunts involving helicopters, sniffer dogs, a bloodhound, thermal imaging cameras and scores of volunteers have all failed to find the child who vanished from fields at West Kingston, Ferring, near Worthing, on Saturday night.

Police today widened the search. Teams of officers, volunteers and a helicopter were concentrating on the Highdown Towers, on the outskirts of Worthing close to the main A259.

Detectives have warned there is a growing likelihood Sarah was abducted as she walked between the field where she was playing and her grandparents' house, just 150 metres away.

Morse, a specially-trained bloodhound on loan from Essex police, last night picked up the girl's scent in a field and at a nearby beach where the family had played earlier.

But handlers PC Malcolm Fish and Terry Smith said their findings had been inconclusive.

Det Supt Ladley said fears were growing for the safety of the school girl, described by her mother as a quiet and nervous girl.

Fingertip searches have been carried out along the route between the wheatfield and the house, but Sarah's oldest brother Lee, 13, told police he had seen a car and a van drive past near the route Sarah would have taken.

Police are anxious to trace the owners of a grey Ford Mondeo and white Transit-style van spotted by the youngster, who had tried to follow his sister home from the field but lost sight of her.

Specially trained officers are continuing to question Sarah's two brothers and sister in a bid to build up more information in the moments leading up to her disappearance.

Family liaison officers are also working with her parents who were said to be bearing up well under the strain.

Mrs Payne clutched the hands of her weeping husband Michael and her father-in-law Terry, as she told a news conference yesterday that Sarah had told Lee, her other brother Luke, 11 and sister Charlotte, six, that she was going home after getting tired as they played.

Schoolfriends of Sarah have said prayers for her safe return, her headteacher said. David Sutton described Sarah as "a very popular child."

He said the school was like a family and that everyone was praying for Sarah.

He added: "She has shown herself to be an immensely likeable and friendly child, who always thinks compassionately of others.

"She has fitted in well and was quickly doing the work expected of her, which she always completes enthusiastically.

"She has a small, secure group of friends who always look out for each other.

"She is a friendly, popular child, who we are thinking of in our prayers."

Mr Sutton said the school had held two special assemblies to keep children informed of the situation.

The family, from Surrey, were on a weekend visit to Sarah's grandparents Terry, 58, and 46-year-old Lesley.

Sarah was last seen wearing shiny black nylon shoes with Velcro fastenings and a blue Fred Perry style tennis dress.

Her blonde hair is cut in a bob.

More than 150 officers are involved in the search.

Anyone with information about the disappearance should contact Sussex police on 0845 6070 999.