OREGON CITY, Ore., March 19 (UPI) -- Investigators continued to sort through stacks of leads and tips Tuesday in search of a breakthrough that will lead them to a pair of 13-year-old girls who vanished separately from an apartment complex outside Portland, Ore.
Police and FBI agents said they have received more than 800 tips about the disappearances of Ashley Pond on Jan. 9 and her neighbor and classmate, Miranda Gaddis, on March 8. After a segment on the case aired this past weekend on Fox's "America's Most Wanted," about 50 callers offered tips.
The task force investigating the disappearances has determined that the two Oregon City girls probably were victims of foul play rather than runaways. They they have not given up hope that both are still alive.
Both girls were last seen getting ready to leave to catch their bus to school. No one in the complex reported seeing anything suspicious.
Ashley's mother, Lori Pond, told CBS's "The Early Show" Tuesday that the progress of the investigation was frustrating, but that detectives are "doing everything they can."
"They are keeping us informed of what's going on step-by-step," Pond said. "At this point in time, they're still trying to follow up on the leads with people that called in the tips."
Friends and supporters of the two families were also taking steps to encourage the public to tell investigators what they know. Separate Web sites -- FindAshley.com and FindMiranda.com -- were launched this week as a forum for the release of information about the investigation and to gather e-mailed messages of support.
"We're hoping that people that are afraid to call the FBI tip line are able to go on there and give tips," Miranda's aunt, Terri Duffey, told reporters.
In the meantime, a fundraising event was taking place Tuesday afternoon at a neighborhood pizza parlor to bolster a $5,000 reward offered for information leading to the safe return of the children.
