WEST LAFAYETTE - More than 300 people volunteered for a campuswide search effort Thursday to look for missing Purdue University freshman Wade Steffey.
Aside from the volunteer force, police from Purdue, Lafayette, West Lafayette and Tippecanoe County, as well as the FBI and Porter County K-9 units, participated in the search.
The search party gathered at the Purdue Police Department headquarters at 2 p.m. Thursday, and Police Chief Gary Evans and Capt. Tim Potts of Purdue Police briefed the volunteers.
Police told volunteers to look for wallets, a silver Verizon flip phone, clothing, shoes or anything unusual.
Volunteers were taken to various locations by buses and vans and divided into five groups to cover the search area.
Potts said the search was a "fantastic response" from the community.
"We were able to cover a larger area than what we originally planned and we covered it in a much shorter time than we anticipated," he said.
Though the hours-long search was unsuccessful in finding 19-year-old Steffey or any definitive evidence, the groups turned up items that might create new leads for police.
In the first hour of the search, volunteers found a key-ring around a watch band with a cell phone. They also found a second cell phone, but police confirmed the phone did not belong to Steffey. A group also found footprints near the Aviation Technology Building at the Purdue Airport, which police said appeared to be days old.
In the second hour of the search, volunteers searching Purdue's Horticulture Park found a scrap of blue fabric, which was taken in for analysis. Searchers also found a pair of shoes behind a Citgo gas station.
Tracking dogs arrived at the rope courses in the intramural fields west of McCormick Road and attempted to pick up a scent, but were unsuccessful.
According to police, Steffey attended a party at Phi Kappa Theta fraternity, 900 David Ross Road. He left the party alone either late Friday or early Saturday, reports said.
Steffey made a phone call to a friend at 12:21 a.m. Saturday; he had a brief conversation with Ron LoBianco, a friend he has known for two years. LoBianco later told police "nothing sounded weird."
A tip has led police to believe Steffey was last seen outside the northwest corner of Owen Residence Hall. The tip said Steffey called a female resident at Owen Hall to retrieve a coat he left in her room earlier that evening, but the female, who had accompanied Steffey to the party earlier, did not answer his call.
"Right now we're looking at anything to identify other leads," Potts said. "We're not leaving any stone unturned."
Before the community search began, police updated information regarding the case.
Police have discovered that Steffey's cell phone cannot be tracked by global positioning system technology because it did not have a compatible service.
Police have also found that the original information about Steffey's bank account being accessed at 1:11 a.m. Saturday was inaccurate. The money was withdrawn at 8 p.m. Friday, but the transaction was not posted to his bank account until a later time.
Jeanne Norberg, spokeswoman for the Purdue University, said there are no official plans for further community searches, although authorities will continue their rescue efforts.
"[The police] are regrouping right now," she said Thursday night. Norberg said police were using a helicopter equipped with infrared technology at 9:30 p.m. Thursday to continue looking during the night hours.
Police continue to encourage people to call with any information they have about the case.
"They may think it's insignificant, but we will run any and all leads out," Potts said. "There's no such thing as a bad lead. There's no way we're going to be able to do this on our own."
Steffey is a white male with short brown hair and brown eyes. He is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs around 150 pounds. He was last seen wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with light blue stripes and light-colored jeans.
Anyone with information should contact Purdue Police at 765-494-8221 or through an anonymous tip line at 765-496-3784.