Van report triggers leads in disappearance of Miss. family

Associated Press WriterJACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Going public with reports a white van had been seen outside the home of a Mississippi family the day they disappeared is paying off with new leads, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

"We've had about a dozen white van leads," said Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Highway Patrol and the task force searching for the family. "Each one is being processed and is being worked."

There has been no trace of Michael and Rebecca Hargon and their 4-year-old son, James Patrick, since the three disappeared on Valentine's Day. Extensive ground and air searches in and around their rural Vaughan community home have been fruitless.

A team of federal, state and local officers was assembled after investigators found dried blood droplets, bullet holes and shell casings at the Hargon home.

Strain said an older-model white Ford Econoline van was seen speeding away from the Hargon home on Feb. 14. He declined to identify the source of the report.

To date, the task force has received some 230 leads about the disappearance. Strain said about two dozen had been checked and discarded, while the remainder have been assigned to agents or are pending.

While organized searches have all but ended, Strain said authorities could quickly resume such operations if warranted.

"The investigation has really shifted away from search and more to investigating leads that come in," he said.

William McBride, Michael Hargon's brother-in-law, said family members were still carrying out daily searches in and around Vaughan.

"We will continue to do that," McBride said.

Task force officials said they are awaiting test results from the state Crime Lab on the blood, shell casings and other evidence. Strain said he could not comment on early findings, including whether the blood found was that of one of the family members.

"Until we get the bulk of the tests back, we will not be able to put the pieces together and develop a full picture," he said.

Rewards for information in the case have reached $100,000, largely due to a donation from the owner of a Brandon auto dealership.