By By John Lee

Post-Crescent staff writer

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[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] MISHICOT  The search for a missing Calumet County woman intensified Sunday in northern Manitowoc County. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Hundreds of police officers searched an auto salvage yard, while more than 200 of Teresa Halbach's friends and relatives searched ditches, ravines, fields and creeks. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Police hope evidence being processed at the state Crime Lab in Madison can help tell them what happened to Halbach, 25, who has been missing since last Monday. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Meanwhile, Halbach's family remained optimistic she will be found. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "We are staying strong," Teresa's brother, Mike Halbach, said Sunday from the farmhouse Teresa and a roommate rented next door to her parents near St. John in Calumet County. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "For the most part, we are staying optimistic. You hope you get answers soon." [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Calumet County Sheriff Jerry Pagel said police from Calumet and Manitowoc counties and from the state Division of Criminal Investigation were searching hundreds of vehicles in a 40-acre salvage yard about three miles west of Mishicot, just off State 147. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] The salvage yard, on Avery Road, is owned by the family of Steven Avery, a Manitowoc County man who was released from prison in 2003 after serving 18 years in prison for a 1985 sexual assault. He was released after he was exonerated by DNA evidence. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Their searches were being assisted by dive teams from the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department, which was checking three ponds near the salvage yard, and from three K-9 units with officers and dogs. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] The Wisconsin State Patrol had a half-mile area around the salvage yard closed to traffic Sunday. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Family and friends were told to concentrate their searches away from the salvage yard, north of State 147 and east of I-43. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Halbach, a freelance photographer who was taking photos for an automotive magazine, had three appointments last Monday in Manitowoc County and apparently was last seen after taking a photo of a vehicle Avery has for sale, authorities said. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Pagel said her vehicle was located in the salvage yard about 10 a.m. Saturday by friends and family of Halbach who were searching the area. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Calumet and Manitowoc County authorities obtained a search warrant for the salvage yard on Saturday. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Pagel said additional search warrants, which he would not discuss in detail, were issued late Saturday and early Sunday. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Pagel said Halbach's sport utility vehicle was impounded and taken to the state Crime Lab in Madison, where evidence technicians were examining it Sunday. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Avery was at a family cabin near Crivitz for the weekend. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Pagel said he has been interviewed by the Marinette County Sheriff's Department. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] He declined to describe Avery as a suspect in Halbach's disappearance. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "At this point of time, everybody is a person of interest and a suspect," he said. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "A lot of things have been eliminated, and other pieces have been looked at. Steven Avery has been very cooperative, as far as we know on this end." [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Rob Hermann, Manitowoc County's undersheriff, disputed comments Avery made to a television reporter over the weekend that Manitowoc County police were setting him up. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "It's just not true," Hermann said. "If Mr. Avery feels that way, he is mistaken." [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] He said Manitowoc County police have had some contact with Avery since his release from prison. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "We have had some minimal contact  nothing serious," Hermann said. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Pagel said investigators have interviewed more than 100 people. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] He said there have been several leads from friends and relatives, but noted that Halbach had no criminal or medical history that would cause her to disappear. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "We are exploring all those leads," he said, including information on people she knew or had dated in the past. "We are continuing to receive what we feel is valuable information from the public." [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Pagel and family members said there was no recent relationship that ended, and Pagel said there has been no activity on her cell phone account, financial accounts or credit cards since last Monday. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] As state troopers blocked roads and squad cars moved in and out of the salvage yard, Avery's neighbors watched and wondered Sunday. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Steve Keehan, who lives about a half mile away, said he saw a State Patrol helicopter flying over the area most of Saturday, as well as Eagle III, a helicopter from Brown County Rescue. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] He said he didn't know if they were looking for Halbach or a suspect, but said his family locked their doors and their vehicles. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "My neighbor was going to go into the woods with his grandson and I told him not to," he said. "You don't know." [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Mike Halbach spent his weekend searching for his sister in Manitowoc County, and giving out maps from her home as friends and family members came to offer help. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] He said he, his parents and his three other siblings appreciate the effort police are putting into the case. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "It's unbelievable," he said. "We really appreciate all the help. They are being very thorough." [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] As he waits and hopes, he thinks about his sister, who is a year and a half older than him. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "It was all good stuff with her," he said. "There were never any enemies that we knew of." [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] She took photos of children, high school seniors, weddings and pictures for the car magazine, he said. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "She was happy 100 percent of the time. Very outgoing. Very loving. Photography was a large part of her life," he said. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "She's a very sweet girl. She would do anything for anyone," said Erin Boesch, who helped search with her fiance, Mike Nett, who lives next door and has known Teresa all of his life. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] In the meantime, Pagel said police will continue to search for the missing woman. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "Everything is wide open. We are looking at all aspects of possibilities. We are expanding our search and efforts. Our biggest concern is finding her. I am always optimistic." [/font]