Link to today's reporting at bottom:
"A search team of about 110 people including law enforcement officers and trained volunteers was combing through fields and countryside around Charlottesville on Saturday. Searchers have been out every day since the student was reported missing Sept. 14.
Mark Eggeman, search and rescue coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, said his team was focusing on 200 square miles surrounding downtown Charlottesville and had covered just under half of that ground. A law enforcement computer mapping specialist has been brought in to help the team piece together the areas it has covered into a master planning map.
"It's a lot about just trying to connect dots," he said.
A plane was taking high definition images on Saturday of areas on the west and east sides of town, which will then be scanned and analyzed with computer software. An unmanned drone was used earlier in the week to survey an area where power lines would have made it difficult to fly a plane or helicopter.
Despite the technology, the backbone of the search is still the officers trudging through fields and walking along creek beds.
"It still takes boots on the ground," said Eggeman, who's been involved in search and rescue for 30 years. "Despite what you see on CSI, and everything else, you still have to do it the old fashioned way."
Uniformed officers riding ATVs were seen combing farmland earlier this week, checking fence lines and a well. They've also ventured into some mountainous terrain, but investigators decline to share specifics about exactly where they are focusing.
With archery hunting season for deer starting Saturday, hunters also have been asked to be alert for any signs of Graham. Authorities also have asked farmers and property owners to check their land. Searchers have gotten over 3,500 tips, which are screened by detectives for usefulness.
Asked how long the search would continue, Eggeman said that searchers wouldn't consider stopping until they've met their objectives and that the decision would ultimately be led by Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo."
Read more:
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/1...ue-statement-plea-for-information-107782.html
