RENO (AP) - Searchers on foot and ATVs combed fields and other areas Saturday near where a 16-year-old Reno girl was last seen while riding a bicycle.
Police suspect foul play in Wednesday evening's disappearance of Karamjit Kaur, a North Valleys High School sophomore who moved with her family from East India to Reno eight months ago.
Her father, Surinder Mathon, issued a statement Saturday pleading for her safe return.
"Whoever took her, bring her back safely. Drop her off. We just want her back," Mathon said. "She is very nice. She is a smart girl."
Friends joined the family at the girl's home Saturday.
"We just hope she's coming back. It's the only hope we can have," family friend Harry Thandi said. "We're just hoping for the best."
Searchers also inspected Dumpsters, parking lots and under bridges in their hunt for Kaur.
"We're trying to be as meticulous as we can," said Randy Post, a searcher with the Washoe County sheriff's office.
Reno police Lt. Mike Whan said detectives were following up on a number of leads, but he declined to elaborate.
"We've got a whole bunch of (anonymous tips) now" after news media coverage of the case, he said.
Whan said 99.9 percent of teens who are reported missing return, but investigators do not believe she ran away.
Kaur told her family she was hot and left her house around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to ride the family's bike outside their home.
The bike was found Thursday afternoon about a quarter mile away at a skateboard park. Police said they were unsure how the bike got there because Kaur usually just rode it near the house.