Missing girls: Police search woods

The girls were wearing identical Manchester United shirts when they went missing

SOHAM, England -- Police hunting two missing girls are examining two areas of "disturbed earth" in a wood 10 miles from where they disappeared.

Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells were last seen in their hometown Soham, in Cambridgeshire, eastern England on August 4.

The jogger, who told police on Tuesday he had seen the disturbed earth earlier in the day, had also previously told police that he had heard the sound of teenagers screaming in the area on August 4.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Hebb said: "A jogger contacted police to say there are two areas of disturbed earth in Warren Hill (near Newmarket) and he took officers to the scene.

"It has been decided these areas need further investigation and they have now been cordoned off"

"The jogger also told police on August 4 that he was walking his dog (in the same area) and heard the sound of teenagers screaming

Police have sealed off the sites and forensic experts have been called in to help the search.

More than 340 police officers are involved in the search

As police efforts concentrate on the wood, detectives were also attempting to trace a motorist seen struggling with two children in a car on Soham on the day the girls were last seen.

Hebb, from Cambridgeshire police, said there had been a surge in the numbers of people offering information to the inquiry since the sighting was publicised on Monday.

But he added: "Despite an exceptional number of calls to our incident room in the last 24 hours, the driver of that car has not yet come forward. We would reiterate our appeal to that driver."

The fact that the motorist had not come forward in 24 hours despite massive publicity was concerning police, suggesting the struggle was not an innocent tussle between a parent and his daughters.

The case of the missing girls in their Manchester United shirts has shocked Britain. Several newspapers have offered rewards totalling more than £1 million ($1.5 million) for any information leading to their safe return. (Full story)

Hebb defended police handling of the inquiry after criticism from the taxi driver who says he saw the motorist struggling with two children in the green car, believed to be a Vauxhall Vectra, near where the schoolgirls were last seen a week ago on Sunday.

Ian Webster said he initially contacted police five days before his sighting was made public.

He spoke to police three times before a detective from the search team finally interviewed him.

Hebb told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday: "All I can do is reiterate that every piece of the vast amount of information we have received is extremely important and treated seriously.

"Each and every piece of information is assessed and prioritised according to the current direction of the inquiry."

Webster told police he had seen the green car swerving erratically on the A142 road with the driver waving his arms around near where Holly and Jessica went missing on Sunday, August 4.

"As he closed upon the vehicle he saw what he believed to be a child in the front passenger seat and another in the back of the car," Hebb said on Monday.

The driver was described as a white male between 38 and 45 years of age with black, wiry, unkempt hair and of Mediterranean appearance.