Investigators interview Bechtel acquaintances

LANDER, Wyo. (AP) - Investigators continued their interviews with friends and relatives of Amy Bechtel on Monday in the continuing search for the Lander woman missing since July 24.

Dave King, the lead investigator for the Fremont County Sheriff's office in the search for Bechtel, said authorities have continued to question Bechtel's acquaintances in an effort to determine who might be responsible for her disappearance.

"We're just continuing to do the same things, interview the people in Amy's life, the people who can possibly help us understand if someone abducted Amy," he said. "We're trying to analyze any possibilities and we're trying to get a focus on this thing."

Bechtel, 24, disappeared after leaving her Lander home to jog on the Loop Road in the Shoshone National Forest.

Although searchers immediately found her car, no sign of the woman has been found and Fremont County authorities last week declared the search a criminal investigation.

The Fremont County Sheriff's office set up checkpoints at forest's entrances over the weekend to continue its efforts to contact anyone who might have been in the forest when Bechtel disappeared.

The sheriff's office is being aided by the state Division of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has put 24 to 25 agents in the field to help, King said.

King said the DCI's portable crime laboratory was to be taken to Lander in the next several days to begin a thorough investigation of Bechtel's car.

Although the search of the Loop Road area continues, it has been scaled back significantly as officials examine other possibilities.

"We hven't ruled anything ot," King said. "We y's on the mountain and that we've overlooked her. We feel pretty confident about the search we've conducted."