Police searching for a missing 5 year-old girl in Wales say finding out what happened from young witnesses is a "delicate and time-consuming" task.

April Jones was last seen getting into the driver's side of a light-coloured van in Machynlleth (pron: MER-CUN-LIFF) at about 7 o'clock last night ... and officers say there's no sign of a struggle.

Two police helicopters have joined the search - while hundreds of local residents have headed out in teams of 20 ... led by Mountain Rescue guides ... to help look for April.