Tip Advises FBI and Local Authorities To Search For Missing Girls Near Mine Shafts

A day of desperate searching for two missing teenagers ends in disappointment.<br>The Federal Bureau of Investigation spent most of the Thursday looking for 16-year-olds Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman.

Thursday, January 6th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A day of desperate searching for two missing teenagers ends in disappointment.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation spent most of the Thursday looking for 16-year-olds Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman. The two vanished without a trace from the scene of a double shooting in Welch one week ago.

Acting on a tip, investigators widened their search 20 miles northeast to Picher to look inside old mine shafts. But after an extensive search by divers in a large concrete structure and the surrounding areas, they found no sign of the girls. "The areas are huge," explained F-B-I agent Paul Killian. "There are hundreds of caverns and mine shafts, so it is very difficult. We have to be slow and methodical in our search." The F-B-I and local police will resume the search Friday.