Clues emerge in Tenn. abduction; no sign of woman

[April 16, 2011]  PARSONS, Tenn. (AP) -- More clues have emerged in the case of a missing western Tennessee nursing student who was abducted from her home by a man wearing camouflage, but there's still no sign of the 20-year-old woman.

Searchers her found a lunchbox, authorities said Friday, and revealed that her brother saw blood outside of the house, though they haven't confirmed yet whether it belonged to Holly Bobo, who disappeared as she was preparing to go to classes.

She was last seen by her brother, Clint, early Wednesday morning as she walked into the woods with an unknown man. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent John Mehr said authorities do not believe she went willingly.

"We feel she was in fear of her life, so she was complying with his commands," Mehr said.

TBI officials have said Bobo's 25-year-old brother saw his sister outside the house with a man before she was kidnapped at around 7:30 a.m. But he only saw the man from the back, and he thought he was her boyfriend.

He did not become suspicious until he went outside and saw blood. Then he called 911.

"The boyfriend is not a suspect. The brother is not a suspect," Mehr said. "We are confident of that."

Officials have no suspects, he said.

The TBI had previously said Bobo was dragged from her home near Parsons, about 100 miles northeast of Memphis. On Friday, Mehr clarified that she was being held by the hand or arm, but not in a forceful manner.

Local deputies began searching for her shortly after her abduction and it had expanded to include multiple law enforcement agents and dozens of volunteers by nightfall.

On Thursday, Bobo's parents pleaded for help from the public. Her father, Dana Bobo, told reporters they suspect she was taken by someone who knew when family members came and went from the house.

"I just have a feeling it might have been somebody close, who knew our routine -- when she (his wife) left, when I left, when our daughter left," Dana Bobo said.

[Associated Press; By SHEILA BURKE]

Associated Press writer Travis Loller in Nashville contributed to this report.

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