'I'd give all to get her back', says father of Shannon

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As the search for missing Shannon Matthews continues, the nine-year-old's father made an emotional appeal for her safe return. Speaking yesterday, Leon Rose, 29, who is separated from Shannon's mother Karen, said: "I'd give everything I own for her to be found. I feel she is still alive. I have to believe that – anything else would be too much to bear. She's a happy, loving little soul – a real bundle of laughs. I can't bear the thought that we don't know where she is."

Despite a massive police search, joined by friends and family, there has been no sign of Shannon since a school swimming trip on 19 February.

Yesterday, detectives released a new photograph of her, in the hope of generating more leads.