Mark Bridger, the only suspect in the case of missing April Jones, is well-known to many in the close-knit community of Machynlleth.
On the estate where April lives, he is on nodding terms with many and is thought of as a bit of a "ladies man".
In a close-knit market town of 2,000 people, even those who mind their own business are well-known to others.
Mark Bridger is the only suspect in the case of missing April Jones
Railwayman Glen Lewis, 50, remembers him moving to the town to work as a lifeguard 15 years ago around the time the leisure centre was built.
"I know him well enough to wave to. I've always thought of him as a bit of a ladies man," he said on Thursday.
To local people, Bridger, 46, has claimed to be a former soldier, something that the Ministry of Defence has no knowledge of.
What is known is that he has worked at various times as a welder, a mechanic, a hotel porter and did shifts at an abattoir.
Lewis said he knew Bridger worked at tree harvesting on forestry land close to the town and has intimate knowledge of rural trails.
Another resident said he believed Bridger "still did welding work" but had recently been unemployed.
His love life appears to have been no less complicated than the many and varied career paths he has followed at different times.
People on the estate say Bridger is originally from Surrey and is known to have fathered at least four children with two different partners.
Some neighbours put the number of children he has fathered as high as seven, from three to four partners.
One estate resident, who did not want to be named, said: "I know he has at least four children but I'm fairly certain he has two, perhaps three others.
"My daughter attends the local primary school and he has got two children there."
Among his children are Scott Williams, 19, who lives on the same estate as April. He has a younger teenage brother.
Williams joined the search for April when she was abducted.
Neighbours have spoken of two more of Bridger's young daughters who live on the estate and regularly play with April.
They were born during a previous relationship with a woman who is now married and living in a house on Bryn-y-Gog.
Bridger has lived at a number of addresses in Machynlleth including, until recently, on the estate.
Around a month ago, he moved to a cottage in Ceinws, a village three miles north of the town.
An unnamed mother said: "It came as a bit of a surprise when I heard that he was living in Ceinws because I thought he was still on the estate."
Police forensic teams have been closely examining the rented property, called Mount Pleasant, since yesterday.
The village sits in the shadow of the nearby Centre for Alternative Technology and has about 80 residents.
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