Hundreds of police officers searched woodland

The four-day search near Nottingham involving 630 officers resulted in two arrests in the past three days.

Terry Rodgers, 55, is to be questioned about the death of his daughter Chanel, while Robert Boyer, 42, has been held over the death of miner Keith Frogson.

The police operation was the largest in the history of the Nottinghamshire force.

Dogs and helicopters

Nottinghamshire Police's chief constable will present the cost estimates at a special meeting of the police authority next week.

John Clarke, authority chairman, said: "It will be considerable, there's no doubt about it."

He said the costs could spiral as high as �1m.

We have risen to meet the challenge we faced in this case - and we would do it again Dep Ch Const Howard Roberts Nottinghamshire Police

"It is like moving an army regiment - you can't just go and start searching anywhere, there has to be a method to it," he said.

During the search, officers used dogs and helicopters equipped with heat seeking cameras to comb Annesley Woods, near Huthwaite.

Deputy Chief Constable Howard Roberts told BBC News: "We have had strong support from other forces across the UK.

"But some Notts officers came to work with us on their days off so we didn't have to draw from on-duty officers."

Mr Roberts said local people will not suffer in policing because of the cost of the search.

"We have risen to meet the challenge we faced in this case - and we would do it again. "

Mr Clarke added: "If this level of crime continued over the rest of the year, we would have a massive hole in the budget and we would have to go back to the Home Office."