After five days, backpack only clue to missing girl's whereabouts

The search for a missing Colorado girl entered its fifth day Tuesday with scant clues as to what may have happened to 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway.

A backpack and water bottle were found on Sunday. Those items are being tested by the Colorado Crime Lab for DNA evidence.

"The bottom line is to give us ideas and evidence to who may have been in contact with it and where can we focus the search," Westminster Police Detective Trevor Materasso said.

Authorities in nearby Arvada are also investigating the possible connection of two child enticement cases. In those instances a man was reported trying to lure two boys into a vehicle. The boys are about the same age as Jessica. Jessica was last seen Friday when she left her home to walk the three blocks to meet friends to head to school.

According to police, the route is one Jessica took daily. Authorities and as many as 800 volunteers from across the state have searched portions of several Denver suburbs looking for clues as to the child's disappearance. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been called in to assist in the search.

Authorities have also reportedly spoken with the child's relatives in Independence, Mo. Jessica's great-grandmother Dana Moss told KSHB-TV that she consented to a search of her house because "we'd do anything in the world to get her back."

"Safely, alive, however we can have her back," she said. In Westminster, police stationed officers at elementary schools to assist children, though they said there was no indication that other children were in danger. Westminster PD has increased officer presence at local schools to provide a level of comfort and security to students, staff and parents, the department said on its Facebook page.