Crime

Hundreds Search Tennessee Woods for Missing Nursing Student

Apr 17, 2011 – 2:45 PM

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Lisa Holewa

Lisa Holewa Contributor

Hundreds of volunteers combed wooded areas of Tennessee today in the search for missing nursing student Holly Bobo, believed to have been abducted from her home by a man wearing camouflage clothing.

Bobo, 20, is the cousin of country music singer Whitney Duncan. The search has galvanized the area near the small community of Parsons where she lives, about an hour northeast of Memphis.

"This Sunday is no day of rest," local TV news anchor Will Nunley wrote in one of his many Twitter updates from the search site. He described a "nonstop shuttle of buses" bringing volunteers to the woods to help.

Holly Bobo
Decatur County Sheriff's Department
Police issued an Amber alert for Holly Bobo on Wednesday after her brother saw her heading into the woods with an unknown man dressed in camouflage.
More than 500 volunteers were involved in the search effort Sunday morning, joining law enforcement officers from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Decatur County Sheriff's office.

Bobo was last seen Wednesday morning by her brother, who called 911 after seeing her heading into the woods with an unknown man dressed in camouflage. Authorities have said they believe Bobo did not go "willingly," but she also was not dragged or carried into the woods outside her home, as early reports suggested.

Searchers found Bobo's lunchbox, as well as duct tape with blond hair on it, although authorities said they did not know if it was Bobo's or connected to the case. Volunteers have been searching on foot, horseback and by ATV.

At the time of her disappearance, Bobo was preparing to leave for classes for her nursing clinical training program. Her parents said they believe her abductor may have been someone who knows her and her family's daily habits.

"It might have been somebody close, somebody that kind of knew our routine and when I left and when (my wife) left and when my daughter left to go to school, is what I got in my mind," her father, Dana Bobo, said at a news conference last week. "But I don't know what for sure."

Pictures of Bobo are posted throughout the community, along with pink ribbons. Many of the searchers have also worn pink, her favorite color. The community also is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to her safe return.

The search has reached beyond her small community, with organizers coordinating searches and releasing updates via social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Her cousin, Duncan, has also tweeted about the case.

"I can't thank you all enough for all the efforts to find Holly. Keep it up until she is home with us," she wrote.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says law enforcement officers are investigating more than 250 leads in the case. Authorities urge anyone who may have information about Bobo's disappearance to call 1-800-TBI-FIND.
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