Thursday, 4:30 PM
Search intensifies in Vermont for missing college student
By Suzanne Smalley and Raja Mishra, Globe Staff
BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Federal agents and National Guard troops today joined a desperate and intensifying search for a 21-year-old college student who disappeared five days ago, sending ripples of fear through this picturesque college town.
The smiling face of University of Vermont senior Michelle Gardner-Quinn of Arlington, Va. beamed from dozens of "Missing" posters plastering campus that noted she was last seen dressed in a gray peacoat, green cardigan, a black Puma purse with a white strap, and nose-ring -- the outfit she wore to celebrate a friend's birthday at a series of downtown Burlington bars.
Authorities today expanded their search beyond Burlington, with canine units, sex crime specialists and helicopter teams mobilized in a race to find her alive.
Police said they suspected possible foul play and said they were searching for a man driving a "Suburu-type" hatchback who was seen trying to get another woman into his car early Saturday near where Gardner-Quinn was last seen. Police said they have received a number of "helpful" leads that have "sent the investigation in a specific direction," though they would not elaborate.
Gardner-Quinn's disappearance sent chills and anger through the student body, who long assumed their lush liberal Vermont oasis was immune to such crime.
"It scares me," said Ariel Hodara, a 18-year-old freshman from Westchester County, N.Y. "I'm going to be a lot more careful. I always thought it was really safe here."
Students and family were dumfounded that the popular 21-year-old from Arlington, Va., with extensive experience traveling in the Third World could suddenly disappear. Her parents, in town for Parents Weekend, reported her missing when she didn't show up for dinner Saturday night.
