Search for missing Lander woman continues locally, grows thin without clues

LANDER, Wyo. (AP) - The investigation into the disappearance of a Lander woman is nearing the "saturation point" locally, according to an investigator for the Fremont County Sheriff's office.

But investigator Dave King said a lack of clues is making it difficult to know where to continue the search.

"We're not done here yet," said David King. "We're waiting for information on out-of-area interviews to come in. We want to absorb that material to see where that takes us."

Amy Wroe Bechtel, 25, disappeared after leaving her Lander home to go jogging near the Loop Road in the Shoshone National Forest on July 24.

More than 100 people spent more than a week searching the forest for signs of her immediately following her disappearance, but they turned up no leads. Local authorities declared it a criminal investigation and have received help from the state and the FBI.

Fremont County Sheriff Larry Mathews recently had indicated that a search of Bechtel's home and her husband Steve's pickup truck revealed nothing incriminating.

But King told the Journal earlier this week not all of the evidence collected in the searches had returned from the state crime lab.

"There's nothing conclusive about the evidence collected to date," King said. "There was some questionable substances found in the truck - biological things - but we don't know the conclusion on that. I don't think the jury is back yet.

"I'm not indicating that there is anything there, but I'm not saying there isn't either," he said. "We have to wait until all the results are in."

In an attempt to augment their search, King said investigators are comparing information with Amy Bechtel's family and friends - who have organized their own network to search for her.

"They're getting tips off of their web site and from phone calls... If a name means something to them or visa versa we can have the lead checked out," he said. "Beyond that, the frustration continues, but then so does the effort."