Post by mysticsnowangel on May 22, 2006 19:56:06 GMT -5
Under overcast skies, hundreds of people fanned out across this university town Wednesday in the second full day of fruitless searching for a missing 19-year-old college student.
Police fielded hundreds of tips from across the country, but conceded Wednesday afternoon that they had no solid leads into the whereabouts of Brooke Wilberger, a student at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, whose parents live in Oregon.
Searchers combed through wooded areas near the apartment complex managed by Wilberger's sister and her husband, where the 19-year-old was last seen at 10:30 a.m. Monday.
"Our focus is Brooke. We all love her. She is the centerpiece of our family," Brooke's brother-in-law, Zach Hansen, told KATU News. "We're very appreciative of the police department and all of the law enforcement officials who are out looking for her. We're appreciative of all of the folks who are coming out to help in the search, as well as all of the organizations."
Wilberger's friends and extended family members joined the hunt, as did members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to which Wilberger and her family belong.
"We have five daughters," said Dan Hale, a church member from Lebanon, Ore., who was out looking for Wilberger. "We would want this kind of community support."
At a Wednesday morning news conference, Corvallis police Lt. Ron Noble said authorities had interviewed all of the registered sex offenders within the county, and spoken with just about every resident of the apartment complex.
"While the search continues, investigators from the police department will continue doing background checks on any possible suspects," he said. "We're going to probably go through the list of predators or sex offenders or anybody else who has been released into the community who perhaps would do something like this. We're not saying that is what happened, but we'll just continue to do background investigations and work to get the word out."
Wilberger's family told police that the missing woman is devout and studious, and does not smoke or drink. Her longtime boyfriend is currently in Venezuela on a Mormon mission, the family said.
Wilberger is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs about 119 pounds.
She has shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyes, and was last seen wearing a gray Brigham Young University sweat shirt, jeans, small hoop earrings and a ring with the initials "CTR" engraved on it.
Hale said those initials stand for the saying "choose the right," a common Mormon phrase indicating that the wearer has chosen to live a devoted lifestyle.
Deutsch said Wilberger has a scar on her right arm from her elbow to her wrist, which her mother on Wednesday told NBC's "Today Show" is from a gymnastics accident.
Deutsch said that Wilberger's purse, keys and other personal items had been left in her sister's Corvallis apartment.
A piece of clothing belonging to Wilberger was found in the complex's parking lot, he said, a possible tip-off to police that she'd been abducted.
Police fielded hundreds of tips from across the country, but conceded Wednesday afternoon that they had no solid leads into the whereabouts of Brooke Wilberger, a student at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, whose parents live in Oregon.
Searchers combed through wooded areas near the apartment complex managed by Wilberger's sister and her husband, where the 19-year-old was last seen at 10:30 a.m. Monday.
"Our focus is Brooke. We all love her. She is the centerpiece of our family," Brooke's brother-in-law, Zach Hansen, told KATU News. "We're very appreciative of the police department and all of the law enforcement officials who are out looking for her. We're appreciative of all of the folks who are coming out to help in the search, as well as all of the organizations."
Wilberger's friends and extended family members joined the hunt, as did members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to which Wilberger and her family belong.
"We have five daughters," said Dan Hale, a church member from Lebanon, Ore., who was out looking for Wilberger. "We would want this kind of community support."
At a Wednesday morning news conference, Corvallis police Lt. Ron Noble said authorities had interviewed all of the registered sex offenders within the county, and spoken with just about every resident of the apartment complex.
"While the search continues, investigators from the police department will continue doing background checks on any possible suspects," he said. "We're going to probably go through the list of predators or sex offenders or anybody else who has been released into the community who perhaps would do something like this. We're not saying that is what happened, but we'll just continue to do background investigations and work to get the word out."
Wilberger's family told police that the missing woman is devout and studious, and does not smoke or drink. Her longtime boyfriend is currently in Venezuela on a Mormon mission, the family said.
Wilberger is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs about 119 pounds.
She has shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyes, and was last seen wearing a gray Brigham Young University sweat shirt, jeans, small hoop earrings and a ring with the initials "CTR" engraved on it.
Hale said those initials stand for the saying "choose the right," a common Mormon phrase indicating that the wearer has chosen to live a devoted lifestyle.
Deutsch said Wilberger has a scar on her right arm from her elbow to her wrist, which her mother on Wednesday told NBC's "Today Show" is from a gymnastics accident.
Deutsch said that Wilberger's purse, keys and other personal items had been left in her sister's Corvallis apartment.
A piece of clothing belonging to Wilberger was found in the complex's parking lot, he said, a possible tip-off to police that she'd been abducted.