Key events from the five-year-old's disappearance in Machynlleth to Mark Bridger's guilty verdict at Mold crown court
*Monday 1 October 2012 *
*7.15pm:* April is playing on her bike with friends on the Bryn-Y-Gog estate in the mid-Wales town of Machynlleth when she is abducted. A seven-year-old friend tells police she was taken in a grey van. The friend says she had a "happy face" as she got in.
*7.20pm: *Mark Bridger's Land Rover is seen driving away from Machynlleth at speed.
*7.29pm:* April's mother, Coral, dials 999 and reports that her daughter has been kidnapped.
*7.37pm:* The first police officer arrives at the scene. She speaks to the child witness and a "critical incident" is launched by Dyfed Powys police.
*8pm:* Scores of Machynlleth people, some alerted by social networks, search for April. By the early hours the number has swollen to hundreds and the police have instigated the first UK child rescue alert, designed to alert police forces and the public across the country that a child has been taken. The biggest search ever undertaken in the UK begins.
*8.30pm:* Bridger's Land Rover is spotted arriving at his home in Ceinws, a village 3 miles from Machynlleth. Police do not know if this is the first time he has been home since abducting April or if he drove there directly after abducting her, killed her there and then went out again to dispose of the body. This sighting may not have been the first time he returned home. At this point Bridger does not know he was seen by the child witness.
*Tuesday 2 October*
*Shortly before 9am:* Bridger is spotted close to a river bank carrying a black bin bag. A witness is to tell police she thought there was something in the bag. Later he takes his Land Rover into a garage to be repaired and pretends to help look for April.
*9am:* Thanks to the seven-year-old's account, police are able to make the link with Bridger and he is made a person of interest. Detectives begin to work on his background.
*Noon:* Bridger is officially made a suspect and police try to find him, his car and his home (he had only moved there five weeks before).
*3.03pm:* Police smash their way into his home, Mount Pleasant cottage. They notice the cottage is unpleasantly hot and smell detergent. Traces of burnt bone, believed to be from a child's skull, are later found in Bridger's wood burner. They cannot see the blood from April's body as Bridger had done a major clean-up.
*3.32pm:* Bridger is arrested close to the river on suspicion of abduction. He tells the arresting officer the basic story he is to maintain during 13 police interviews and three days in the witness box: he had accidentally crushed April in a car accident , but had forgotten what he did with the body. That evening, police tell April's family she is probably dead.
*Friday 5 October*
Bridger is arrested on suspicion of murder after fast-track DNA testing establishes that April's blood has been found at Mount Pleasant – most significantly on the underside of the carpet in the living room in front of the wood burner. There is still no sign of April's body.
*Monday 8 October*
*10am:* Bridger appears at Aberystwyth magistrates court. A small crowd waits outside. One man throws a bottle at the van that brings Bridger to court, others shout abuse. Bridger is driven away to HMP Manchester – formerly known as Strangeways.
*7pm:* April's parents, Coral and Paul, release a Chinese lantern from their garden. Other residents gather to light lanterns, candles and release pink balloons – pink ribbons and balloons have become a symbol of solidarity and hope.
*Monday 14 January 2013 *
At Mold crown court, Mark Bridger pleads not guilty to abduction, murder and concealing, disposing of or destroying April's body. But it emerges that his case is that he was "probably responsible" for her death. April's parents see Bridger in person for the first time since he abducted their daughter.
*Monday 22 April*
Dyfed Powys police announce that the search for April is finally over. They have not found the girl. A "reactive team of specialist officers" remains in place to respond to any new information.
*Monday 29 April*
Mark Bridger's trial starts at Mold crown court. He denies abduction, murder and disposing of, concealing or destroying April's body.
*Thursday 30 May*
Mark Bridger found guilty of abducting and murdering April Jones, and of disposing of, concealing or destroying her body. Reported by guardian.co.uk 13 hours ago.
*Monday 1 October 2012 *
*7.15pm:* April is playing on her bike with friends on the Bryn-Y-Gog estate in the mid-Wales town of Machynlleth when she is abducted. A seven-year-old friend tells police she was taken in a grey van. The friend says she had a "happy face" as she got in.
*7.20pm: *Mark Bridger's Land Rover is seen driving away from Machynlleth at speed.
*7.29pm:* April's mother, Coral, dials 999 and reports that her daughter has been kidnapped.
*7.37pm:* The first police officer arrives at the scene. She speaks to the child witness and a "critical incident" is launched by Dyfed Powys police.
*8pm:* Scores of Machynlleth people, some alerted by social networks, search for April. By the early hours the number has swollen to hundreds and the police have instigated the first UK child rescue alert, designed to alert police forces and the public across the country that a child has been taken. The biggest search ever undertaken in the UK begins.
*8.30pm:* Bridger's Land Rover is spotted arriving at his home in Ceinws, a village 3 miles from Machynlleth. Police do not know if this is the first time he has been home since abducting April or if he drove there directly after abducting her, killed her there and then went out again to dispose of the body. This sighting may not have been the first time he returned home. At this point Bridger does not know he was seen by the child witness.
*Tuesday 2 October*
*Shortly before 9am:* Bridger is spotted close to a river bank carrying a black bin bag. A witness is to tell police she thought there was something in the bag. Later he takes his Land Rover into a garage to be repaired and pretends to help look for April.
*9am:* Thanks to the seven-year-old's account, police are able to make the link with Bridger and he is made a person of interest. Detectives begin to work on his background.
*Noon:* Bridger is officially made a suspect and police try to find him, his car and his home (he had only moved there five weeks before).
*3.03pm:* Police smash their way into his home, Mount Pleasant cottage. They notice the cottage is unpleasantly hot and smell detergent. Traces of burnt bone, believed to be from a child's skull, are later found in Bridger's wood burner. They cannot see the blood from April's body as Bridger had done a major clean-up.
*3.32pm:* Bridger is arrested close to the river on suspicion of abduction. He tells the arresting officer the basic story he is to maintain during 13 police interviews and three days in the witness box: he had accidentally crushed April in a car accident , but had forgotten what he did with the body. That evening, police tell April's family she is probably dead.
*Friday 5 October*
Bridger is arrested on suspicion of murder after fast-track DNA testing establishes that April's blood has been found at Mount Pleasant – most significantly on the underside of the carpet in the living room in front of the wood burner. There is still no sign of April's body.
*Monday 8 October*
*10am:* Bridger appears at Aberystwyth magistrates court. A small crowd waits outside. One man throws a bottle at the van that brings Bridger to court, others shout abuse. Bridger is driven away to HMP Manchester – formerly known as Strangeways.
*7pm:* April's parents, Coral and Paul, release a Chinese lantern from their garden. Other residents gather to light lanterns, candles and release pink balloons – pink ribbons and balloons have become a symbol of solidarity and hope.
*Monday 14 January 2013 *
At Mold crown court, Mark Bridger pleads not guilty to abduction, murder and concealing, disposing of or destroying April's body. But it emerges that his case is that he was "probably responsible" for her death. April's parents see Bridger in person for the first time since he abducted their daughter.
*Monday 22 April*
Dyfed Powys police announce that the search for April is finally over. They have not found the girl. A "reactive team of specialist officers" remains in place to respond to any new information.
*Monday 29 April*
Mark Bridger's trial starts at Mold crown court. He denies abduction, murder and disposing of, concealing or destroying April's body.
*Thursday 30 May*
Mark Bridger found guilty of abducting and murdering April Jones, and of disposing of, concealing or destroying her body. Reported by guardian.co.uk 13 hours ago.