Yale offers 10K reward in student's disappearance

[September 12, 2009]  NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Investigators searching for a Yale graduate student who disappeared days before her wedding reviewed security-camera footage and checked the blueprints of the building where she was last seen as the university offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts.

More than 100 local, state and federal law enforcement personnel were involved in the investigation into Tuesday's disappearance of Annie Le, said Yale spokesman Tom Conroy.

Investigators were examining footage from some 75 cameras on and around the building where Le was last spotted. They did not immediately find any footage of her leaving the building.

"They are going frame by frame, looking at every image," Conroy said.

They also examined blueprints of the building to make sure no places were missed in their search, and examined Le's e-mails and her computer, he said.

There continues to be no evidence of foul play, Conroy said.

Le, a 24-year-old doctoral student in pharmacology originally from Placerville, Calif., was last seen Tuesday at her laboratory in the Yale Medical School complex, slightly less than a mile from the main campus.

Her purse, cell phone, credit cards and money were found in her office. She planned to get married on Sunday, but has not contacted her family, co-workers or friends, authorities said.

Le's fiance has been fully cooperative with authorities, Conroy said.

On her Facebook page, Le wrote, "Lucky I'm in love with my best friend" and noted she was getting married on Sunday.

Lucille Mayer, a neighbor of fiance Jonathan Widawsky, said she was invited to the wedding by his parents. She described Widawsky as smart and easy to get along with.

Le, 4-foot-11 and 90 pounds, wrote a magazine article earlier this year about how to stay safe around the Ivy League campus.

The article, titled "Crime and Safety in New Haven," was published in February in a magazine produced by Yale's medical school. It compares higher instances of robbery in New Haven to cities that house other Ivy League schools and includes an interview with Yale Police Chief James Perrotti, who offers advice such as "pay attention to where you are" and "avoid portraying yourself as a potential victim."

"In short, New Haven is a city and all cities have their perils," Le concludes. "But with a little street smarts, one can avoid becoming yet another statistic."

[Associated Press; By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN]

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