Search continues for missing Iowa teen

• Kathlynn Shepard%2C 15%2C was abducted Monday
• 12-year-old who was abducted along with Shepard later escaped
• The suspect%2C a registered sex offender%2C committed suicide hours after the kidnapping

DAYTON, Iowa -- Bailey Bergman wrung the water from her socks Wednesday afternoon after spending three hours searching for a missing teenager, who with another girl was abducted after getting off of a school bus Monday afternoon.

Bergman, 21, didn't mind soaked cowboy boots, wet from trudging through waist-high grass.

Her efforts came the same day as an announcement of a possible breakthrough: An official said backpacks and a purse belonging to the two abducted girls were discovered late Tuesday.

The items boosted the hopes of officials and the family of the missing teen, Kathlynn Shepard, as the search for her entered a third day. The clues also helped narrow the search area, officials said.

Some of the 134 volunteers who pushed through a steady mist of rain Wednesday said they grew more determined knowing that with each passing hour Shepard faces increasingly long odds of being found alive.

It's possible for Shepard to survive without food or water after three days and this week's mild temperatures also helps her chances, said Bill Kietzman, special agent for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. "Our concern grows, but we're still trying to be optimistic and positive that we're going to be able to find her."

Shepard's picture and description is now being broadcast on billboards across Iowa and elsewhere.

Law enforcement authorities know that the odds are stacked against the search.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the first three hours after an abduction are the most critical when trying to locate a missing child. A 2006 study indicated that of abducted children who are killed, 76.2 percent are slain within three hours of the abduction.

Shepard, 15, and a 12-year-old girl were abducted several blocks from an elementary school in Dayton. The suspect, Michael J. Klunder, 42, committed suicide about four hours after the kidnapping. He was a registered sex offender from the neighboring town of Stratford, where Bergman is from.

"We're from a small community, and it's crazy that something like this would happen," Bergman said. "Definitely the hours are counting down. (Shepard) has been gone already awhile, so it's pretty sad."

Bergman's father said he trudged with his daughter through stretches of land he grew up on. The happy memories of his childhood clashed with the reality of the abductions, he said.

"It's not right," said Tim Bergman, 48, of Stratford. "It's kind of an uncomfortable feeling. But you gotta do what you do."

Hundreds of people sprayed mosquito repellant on each other, then combed through ditches and woods near where the backpacks and purse were spotted. The bags were discarded in a ditch in Fraser, a town along the Des Moines River next to a wooded state park, an official said.

Fraser is about 15 miles south of where the girls were taken, and about 8 miles south of a hog confinement facility where the 12-year-old girl escaped shortly after her abduction.

Many wooded areas, deep ravines and overgrowth make the area near the river hard to reaches. ATVs are sometimes walked in, while other areas are only accessible by air, officials said.

"The fact that it could take a while is obviously true," said Webster County Sheriff James Stubbs. "It'll take until we're done; until we find her."

Even though Shepard is still missing, officials said they and her family remained optimistic she would be found alive and well.

In a statement, the Shepard's family thanked everyone who has helped in the search. The family also asked for privacy.

"To see so much love in our community and surrounding areas is amazing. Thank you for all your prayers. We hope to have Kathlynn home soon," the statement said.

Krogstad also reports for The Des Moines Register