FBI believe two missing girls in Oregon were abducted by the same person

<br>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ Two 13-year-old girls missing from the same apartment complex were abducted by the same person, likely someone who knew both teens, investigators say. <br><br>Ashley Pond and

Thursday, March 14th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ Two 13-year-old girls missing from the same apartment complex were abducted by the same person, likely someone who knew both teens, investigators say.

Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis both disappeared early in the morning, a time when the apartments are usually busy.

``The disappearances are related,'' FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele said Wednesday. ``The thing that would relate them is that one person is involved.''

Oregon City Police Chief Gordon Huiras said investigators have not ruled out the possibility that the two girls were abducted by a stranger, but have no evidence or witnesses indicating they were forced into a vehicle by someone they didn't know.

``If it was a forcible abduction, at least at that location, somebody would have seen something or heard something,'' he told The Oregonian.

Gaddis disappeared last Friday, almost exactly two months after Pond vanished Jan. 9.

The FBI said Wednesday it is sorting through dozens of tips as agents search for the girls.

``We don't have any direct sightings of Ashley or Miranda, (but) all kinds of tips and leads,'' Steele said. She declined to divulge specifics.

Personality profilers from the FBI's Quantico, Va. headquarters were in Portland to help in the search, and will work from the circumstances of the crime and knowledge of past kidnappings to suggest what type of person would snatch two young girls.

``We are very hopeful in the work of the profilers who have come in,'' Steele said.

Many of the calls to the FBI came after the appearance of the mother of Miranda Gaddis on network TV morning shows. Michelle Duffey said she last saw Miranda at breakfast last Friday. The teen-ager was to catch a school bus at 8:05 a.m. but did not get on.

Pond, Miranda's friend at the Newell Creek Village apartments and teammate on the Gardiner Middle School dance team, was also on her way to school when she disappeared.

Police have posted hundreds of missing persons fliers. Teams have searched a nearby wood with dogs. Neighbors, friends and school officials have been questioned. Investigators also have checked with registered sex offenders in the area, all with no results, Steele said.

On the chance that her daughter might call, Duffey has left a message on the family's answering machine.

``Miranda, this is your mom, and I love you very much and want you to come home,'' the message begins.

Reflecting authorities' suspicions that the two girls were abducted, Duffey's recording also pleads with a possible kidnapper to return Miranda.

``If this is somebody who knows where Miranda is, leave your name and phone number, because I'll never give up looking for her,'' the message said.