‘As her father, of course I blame myself. I was meant to be her protector. I held her in my arms when she was just a few minutes old, I rubbed her tiny nose against mine, I promised her then that I would look after her, that she had nothing to fear, that I would always be there and . . . I wasn’t, was I? I’ll never, ever forgive myself for turning away for those few seconds.’

But that was all it took. Chloe knows how it feels – after all, isn’t that how she’d lost Nan?

Except her story had a happy ending. This cutting is from February 1980, and it is now 2004 and there is still no news. How does anyone go on like that? Left suspended between hope and grief. Life and death. Yet knowing every day that a call could come or she could walk through the front door.

She unfolds another cutting, careful not to pull too hard on the newsprint as she feels its resistance. Chloe shakes her head, doubting reporters ever treat the cuttings with the same respect. But she is in the business of preservation. Lives, stories, they’re one and the same.

She rearranges herself on the floor, lying now on her front as she opens up another half a dozen cuttings and lays them out, one on top of another, a run-through of all the ups and downs of the case. One cutting includes a reception class photograph; Chloe scans it for Angie. She finds her, as easily now as if she’d attended the very same class. They were the same age, Chloe reasons, she might well have.

SCHOOL FRIENDS’ VIGIL FOR ANGIE

CHILDREN at the school attended by missing city girl Angela Kyle have held a private assembly to pray together for her safe return.

Students and parents at Dogsthorpe Primary School filled a packed hall on Friday and remembered Angie with songs, pictures and performances. Maureen and Patrick Kyle were also present for what the headteacher described as a ‘celebration’ of Angie’s life.

Headteacher Vanessa Cooper said, ‘Angela is one of our reception class pupils and is a very popular little girl with lots of friends who miss her dearly. Many of the students’ parents and teachers have been aiding in the search for Angie and we realized the children wanted to do their bit too. The children were very clear they wanted to hold a “celebration” of her life.’

In the days leading up to the assembly, the children made colourful posters and chose some of Angela’s favourite songs to sing, including ‘I Can Sing a Rainbow’.

One of her friends, Rachel Barker, five, told this newspaper: ‘Angie is my best friend and I miss playing hopscotch with her.’

She picks up another cutting, pulling her pale blue notebook alongside it and writing down Rachel’s name. She’s not sure why, but it feels like something that would be useful to remember.