THE parents of two children who went missing last week during a holiday in Norfolk have said they have not given up hope of finding them alive, despite police calling, off a three day search at the Holme beach resort.
Mr Kevin Loughlin of London, beside his wife, Lynette, said last, night: "What has kept us going is that Lynette and I are as convinced as we can be that they have not drowned. The water is so shallow that we do not think it is feasible, and they are used to water. There is still a chance that they are alive, hopefully well."
He told a news conference that he had last seen his children, Jodie (6) and Tom (4), last Sunday, "trekking off from the sand dunes".
"We all got changed into our swimming costumes. Lynette tied up Jodi's hair and then Jodi and Tom ran off to the water. They were gone for an absolute maximum of five minutes. Lynette looked up and could not see them. She went after them, but could not find them and then she told me. Right at the end of the beach I could see two figures in the distance who looked about the right size."
Mr Loughlin recalled an incident involving a man on the beach who asked the couple if a football he had found belonged to them. "He kicked it back to me and that is about the time Jodi and Tom went off. We are very much hoping that the man will come forward," he said.
Since their disappearance, Norfolk police have carried out an intensive air and sea search of Holme beach. But a police spokesman, Constable Mel Lacey, said that despite an overwhelming response from the emergency services, there had been no definite sighting of the children since last Sunday.
He also stressed that there was no evidence to suggest the children had been abducted. "It is just one of the possibilities but we, are not looking at this stage for any stranger or a strange man."
Constable Lacey said the air and sea search for the children had been called off to concentrate their efforts inland. It had become clear after three days, he said, that they would not find the children on the beach.
Mr Loughlin said the first two or three days after the children disappeared had been very difficult and "unless it has happened to you, you do not understand how it is".