Search for missing ballots ends in Minn.

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Election officials in Minneapolis Monday gave up looking for 133 missing ballots that were part of the statewide recount of Minnesota's U.S. Senate race.

After scouring a warehouse where all the ballots had been secured, the officials turned over the results of their recount to the secretary of state's office. The ballot mystery will be addressed by the state Canvassing Board when it meets Friday, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

With the initial recount over, incumbent Republican Norm Coleman holds a 192-vote lead over Democratic challenger Al Franken, a slight narrowing from the 215 votes that separated them after the Nov. 4 election, in which nearly 3 million votes were cast. However, there are still several thousand challenged ballots that need to be addressed.

In another development, Franken's campaign said it would withdraw about 425 more challenged ballots, bringing its total to more than 1,000. The Coleman camp has pulled back about 650 challenges.

There are still 6,655 disputed ballots, however.