SAR News: Volunteers join search for Brianna Denison

Update: 02-04-08 - Join the hunt for Brianna Denison.

Volunteers will be working till February 10th to search for
the kidnapped young woman, taken recently from a home near
UNR.

Those interested can sign up to help at the Mandalay A room
at Circus Circus (8:30am). Dress warm.
Lets not give up hope that she is still alive.

Brianna Denison Missing - Kidnap - Sexual assault victim

Volunteers join search for Denison
JACLYN O'MALLEY
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 1/29/2008

Volunteers from two national missing children's organizations are in Reno looking for Brianna Denison, the 19-year-old college student who was abducted from a friend's home eight days ago.

The crews arrived after the Sunday announcement that DNA has linked Denison's abductor to the man who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a University of Nevada, Reno student a week before Christmas.

That man, who has not been captured, kidnapped the 22-year-old student on Dec. 16 from the parking lot of her apartment, which is a few blocks from the house at 1395 MacKay Court where Denison was last seen.

Police believe he is a local man, worked in the area or is very familiar with the UNR area.

Workers from the Laura Recovery Center for Missing Children based in Friendswood, Texas, and the Polly Klaas Foundation based in Petaluma, Calif., are expected to begin searching on foot today throughout the region. The group will be searching state parks, lakes and reservoirs and walking alongside highways, such as U.S. 395 through Carson City and Interstate 80 through Fernley.

Police returned to the neighborhood where Denison was abducted and walked throughout the UNR area posting updated fliers about her disappearance, which occurred about 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 20.

Police urged anyone with information about anyone resembling the suspect to come forward with tips, no matter how inconsequential they seem. Because DNA has been collected, people can be ruled out as suspects, said Commander Ron Holladay.

The man's DNA has been entered into a national database of convicted offenders' DNA but did match any in the system. Scientists said there are large backlogs in entering DNA profiles into the system.

Holladay said people also should consider someone who has drastically changed his behavior, suddenly moved or is known to have small children's items in his vehicle. The UNR student who was assaulted did not see his face but said she saw a baby shoe inside her attacker's truck.

Police suspect her attacker tried to break inside her locked apartment the morning before Denison was abducted.

"We are hopeful still that Brianna is alive and hope this new development will help facilitate her release if she is being held against her will," Lt. Robert McDonald said Monday of the DNA link. "We have his DNA, and we are going to find him if not today or next week or next year, then 10 years from now. We will find him.

"We won't ever give up."

For the past week, Reno police have taken calls on a 24-hour hot line, which has not yielded any significant tips. On Sunday, emergency dispatchers utilized a reverse 911 automated system that left a telephone message with Reno residents updating them about the suspect information and the DNA link.

On Tuesday, UNR police Chief Adam Garcia e-mailed students and staff to update them on the case. He said the disappearance of Denison, a Santa Barbara City College student, has created an increase in students' safety awareness. Last week, UNR police hosted safety presentations on campus and a community briefing with Reno police to address safety concerns.

"I find any crime of this nature despicable regardless if it is connected to the campus or not," Garcia said. "In our mind, the close proximity of events hit home when we first heard of the November assault, and we have followed it closely since then."

Garcia was referring to a Nov. 13 incident in which a 21-year-old UNR student was assaulted about 5 p.m. in her apartment complex parking lot in the 400 block of College Drive. The assailant ran away after she kicked him and screamed.

Police said they cannot connect the incident to the December rape and Denison's disappearance but continue to investigate.

"We are asking that people take their safety into account," Garcia said. "I still feel the campus is safe. People should be concerned for their safety, but that should not be translated into being frightened. They should take appropriate actions to protect themselves."

Source: RGJ.com