Search intensifies for Vermont student

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- FBI agents and National Guard troops joined a desperate and intensifying search yesterday for a 21-year-old student who disappeared four days ago, sending fear rippling through this leafy college town.

The smiling face of Michelle Gardner-Quinn, a senior at the University of Vermont, beamed from dozens of ``Missing" posters plastered on campus that said she was last seen early Saturday dressed in a gray peacoat and green cardigan, wearing a nose stud and carrying a black Puma purse with a white stripe. She had been partying with friends at a series of downtown Burlington bars Friday night.

With each passing hour, hopes of finding the young student alive diminish, authorities said.

``Time is essential," read a statement released yesterday by the Burlington Police Department.

Gardner-Quinn's mother and father from Arlington, Va., were in Burlington for Parents Weekend, when their daughter, a seasoned world traveler, failed to show up for a planned outing Saturday. They reported her missing. The search by local authorities intensified Sunday, after her parents said they believed she might be a victim of foul play.

At a press conference yesterday in Burlington, her parents made an impassioned plea for help.

``I think she's a fighter," said her mother, Diane Gardner-Quinn. ``I think she's resourceful. . . . We pray that she's alive."

Authorities expanded their search beyond Burlington yesterday and mobilized police dogs, sex-crime specialists, and helicopter teams.

The school's student newspaper, the Vermont Cynic, reported yesterday that Gardner-Quinn was last seen at 2:15 a.m. Saturday with a man at the corner of Main and South Union streets off campus on the way to her dormitory. Police have said the man, who is not believed to be a student, is not a suspect.

Police have said they are searching for a white male in his 20s driving a Subaru-type hatchback who was seen trying to coax another woman into his car near where Gardner-Quinn was seen about 20 minutes earlier.

Police said in a statement yesterday that they had received a number of helpful leads over a 24-hour period on Monday and yesterday that had ``sent the investigation in a specific direction." Police would not elaborate.

``We have well over 50 personnel involved, local, state, and federal officers," said Burlington Police Chief Thomas Tremblay. ``We are going to be expanding some of our search grids."

Gardner-Quinn's disappearance provoked fear and anger among the 10,000 University of Vermont students. ``It scares me," said Ariel Hodara, an 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."

Burlington, home to rockers Phish and to Ben & Jerry's ice cream, is a city of 39,000 dominated by the University of Vermont, Burlington College, and Champlain College, with liberal politics, neo-hippie culture, and low crime rates.

The university first informed students of Gardner-Quinn's disappearance Sunday, asking them for leads, school officials said. Yesterday, school administrators began reminding students to pay attention to their surroundings at night, to use well-lit paths, to travel in groups, and to make sure their cellphones are charged.

Police have scheduled safety forums today in downtown Burlington and tomorrow in the university's chapel.

``Even though we are a relatively safe community, both as a city and campus, from time to time, even in safe places, bad things do happen," said the university's spokesman, Enrique Corredera.

The school was considering a ribbon-wearing campaign to foster solidarity for a safe campus, he said.

Jackie Peterson, a 19-year-old sophomore from Kingston, Mass., said students have rallied to find Gardner-Quinn. ``We got an e-mail saying, `If you want to help with fliers,' and a contact number for Gary, the [campus] chief of police," Peterson said.

``I would never walk by myself late at night, especially on the weekends," Peterson said. ``Everyone just thinks it's really scary -- `Oh my God, this could happen to me.' We're all talking about all the times we've walked home alone."

Last evening, about 100 students and faculty members gathered for a vigil in front of a campus fountain, their candles flickering in the Vermont night. A group of Gardner-Quinn's close friends gathered in a tight circle at the center of the gathering. They said she liked Brazilian hip-hop and kept up with world news and would never have gone willingly with a stranger.

``She's the most worldly girl," said Adam Briere, a 19-year-old sophomore and good friend.

``Not In My Town" and ``I Am Scared," read handmade signs.

Megan Behlendorf, an 18-year-old freshman, said her friend's disappearance had provoked considerable soul searching. ``It brings real life to you, knowing that someone could be gone in one day," she said.

Gardner-Quinn had transferred to the University of Vermont this fall from Goucher College in Baltimore. She is majoring in Latin American studies and environmental science. She has participated in student exchange programs in South Africa, Brazil, and Costa Rica. ``We remain hopeful that we will find her," her father, John-Charles Quinn, said yesterday. ``It's been very trying, very painful for all of us in the family, and we're holding up best we can."

Suzanne Smalley can be reached at ssmalley@globe.com, and Raja Mishra at rmishra@globe.com. Globe correspondent Sarah Kneezle contributed to this article.