It was day two Thursday in the renewed search for a 17-year-old schoolgirl who disappeared last Sunday, turning nearly 200 volunteers joined by 50 firefighters with their helicopter throwing their weight behind a big search campaign of the girl in the Balqarn region, in the southern part of the Kingdom. Continuing their search efforts until midnight, the group managed to clear each and every target area mapped out both Wednesday and Thursday on foot and car within an area of 24 sq.km. The volunteers used microphones blasting out verses of the Holy Qur'an and name of the missing girl in an attempt to possibly attract her attention. The girl's father, Saeed Al-Harthi, appeared firm and confident that his daughter will turn up soon as long as the search efforts continue. Police received Wednesday three verified reports of seeing the girl in different locations near her village, said Col. Abdullah Al-Qarni, spokesman of the Asir Police Department. The first two reports said the girl was seen at Al-Obaid village, 13 km away from her house and also at Harja Village, 9 km away from her house, he said. The last report said the girl was spotted a little village called Jalabah only 3 km away from her house, intensifying search efforts within that proximity, Col. Al-Qarni said. No dogs will be used in the search, he added. Her teachers and classmates at Afra Intermediate School in the area said the girl was behaving normally before her disappearance. The girl's records showed that she disappeared when she was in elementary school, but came back home on her own. Police believe that she will come back on her own in the foreseeable future if not found. Okaz/SG __
