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FROM STAFF REPORTS

The search for Jodi Sanderholm continued Monday with cime scene investigators scouring the Cowley State Fishing Lake and surrounding areas for evidence that would lead to her whereabouts.

Arkansas City Police Chief Sean Wallace said Monday that authorities were focused on the state lake and Oklahoma state line using dogs and teams of trackers "trying to find Jodi and or the car."

"We have officers at the Cowley State Lake doing a pretty extensive search," he said Monday afternoon. "We've got crime scene guys out there now covering that area for evidence."

Cowley County Sheriff Bob Odell said Monday that authorities were investigating a tip that a letter with Jodi's name on it was found in the bathroom at the Cowley State Fishing Lake, but "I haven't gotten any confirmation on that," he said.

The lake entrance off U.S. 166 was blocked off Monday morning. On site were officials with the sheriff's office, the Community Emergency Response Team and Cowley County emergency office.

The Kay County undersheriff and the lieutenant were on Silverdale Road this morning, near the state line, assisting Cowley County law enforcement with blocking off an area.

"Basically, we're following any type of thoughts, even on where to look to try to find her vehicle and her," Odell said. "We're covering everywhere in the county we can by air, by foot."

On Sunday, officials extended the search for Sanderholm, 19, who has been missing since Friday afternoon, into the hilly and wooded terrain near Grouse Creek off 166 in case her car or body or some other evidence was hidden from view.

Sanderholm's car was last seen Friday around 1 p.m. heading east on Kansas Avenue near the Ark City Middle School.

She ordered food at Subway minutes earlier wearing cutoff grey sweats and a black leotard. Sanderholm is 5 ft. 3 in. and weighs 105 lbs. with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone who may have seen her or has any information, please contact the Arkansas City Police Dept. at 620-441-4444.

Authorities on Monday continued to question a man Ark City Police Chief Sean Wallace described as a "groupie" of the College's danceline team, of which Jodi was a member.

The man remained in custody on charges unrelated to Sanderholm's disappearance, Wallace said Monday afternoon. Police discovered an arrest warrant for the man when they questioned him about the Sanderholm case, he said.

Some people close to Sanderholm suspect the man is involved in her vanishing, Wallace said Sunday, and police were aware of his interest in the danceline women.

"We're not through talking to him," Wallace said Sunday. "We want to make sure he had nothing to do with it."

Jodi's mother, Cindy Sanderholm, said Sunday that the man is not a suspect and that rumors about him stalking Jodi are unfounded.

Efforts to speak with family members Monday were unsuccessful. A male who answered the phone at their house said the parents were not there and referred questions to police.

The dead end street the Sanderholms live on was filled with cars this morning, many of them forced to park on an adjoining street. The home has become a gathering place for family and friends hoping for good news about Jodi. On Monday, people were coming and going, some of them Jodi Sanderholm's dance teammates wearing their purple jackets.

About 50 officers, agents and firefighters have been involved in the search, including following up leads of possible sightings of Jodi's black Dodge Stratus.

The search on Sunday focused on the Grouse Creek area near U.S. 166, just west of the Cowley lake. It involved four-wheel vehicles and helicopters.

Jodi was last seen heading east in her car on Kansas Avenue, apparently headed to a friend's house just outside town. She never arrived at the friend's house.

Grouse Creek is much further east than the friend's house, but a car or body could be hidden in the hilly and wooded terrain there, Wallace said. Authorities didn't have specific leads on where to hunt, he said, but firefighters trained in tracking can find disturbances made by humans and follow that trail, he said.

Wallace asked that rural residents look in structures and abandoned buildings for something unusual.

"If she has met with foul play, maybe somebody is hiding her body," he said.

Hard to believe

Family and friends describe Jodi as very responsible and can't believe she would just run off.

The outpouring of support and requests to help find Jodi show the best small-town qualities, Wallace said.

"If we get to a specific area that we need searched, we may need help," he said.

Wallace said he remembers Jodi from when he was a school resource officer. Her father, Brian, who owns Ark City Glass, installed the windows in the police department.

"It's personal for us," Wallace said.

Police thought perhaps Jodi had taken off to Dallas to see her boyfriend of five years, who was staying there. They contacted the boyfriend and he hadn't heard from Jodi, Wallace said.

The boyfriend cut his trip short to return to Ark City and be with the Sanderholm family, Cindy Sanderholm said on Sunday.

Jodi also has a sister in Kansas City who has given birth since Jodi went missing, Wallace said.

Jodi was a valedictorian in high school and has a 4.0 GPA at Cowley, the parents said. She lives with her parents and they are constantly touch.

"This is completely out of character," Cindy Sanderholm said.

She said the community response has been "absolutely awesome." She said that Jodi's friends have helped out the most. "They probably put out 20,000 fliers," she said.

The disappearance

Sanderholm is a member of the Cowley College Danceline team and a pre-denistry major, the college Web site states.

Sanderholm's parents talked to her Friday by phone at about 10 minutes to noon, just before her disappearance. Jodi lives at home with her parents.

The conversation with her mother centered around lunch plans. Jodi decided not to go with her mother to eat because she had just finished dance practice and was dirty and sweaty, Cindy Sanderholm said.

They agreed to see each other later. But she did not come home, nor did she stop by the glass company. They called her several times but received no answer.

She was last seen at Subway around 1 p.m. in her Tigerette dance jacket with her name on left side, black leggings, gray cut-off sweat pants and flip flops.

"She's never done anything like this," Brian, her father, said Saturday afternoon. "We've been desperately trying to get a hold of her cell phone."

But the cell phone had gone dead. She hasn't used her credit card, the mother said Sunday.

The search for Sanderholm, shown on television, radio and Internet has jarred the whole community and put residents on alert.

The Danceline performed without Jodi Saturday night at Cowley's home basketball games in W.S. Scott Auditorium. Only six of the 12 dancers performed.

A poster saying "We Love You, Jodi" was fixed to the gym wall; pink ribbons were tied to railing around the gym. Similar ribbons now decorate downtown buildings and light posts.

Posters asking "Have You Seen" Jodi are plastered all over Ark City and in surrounding towns, at least as far away as Cedar Vale.

Traveler Correspondent Chansi Long contributed to this report.

Above: Students Morgan Green, Brianna Branine and Samantha Doffing gathered Saturday night and lit candles for Jodi Sanderholm at a vigil at Ark City Dance.