Search for missing woman extends into woods

Investigators, who include FBI agents, have no specific information that connects 52-year-old Mindy Schloss with the park or the airport's forested periphery, said spokeswoman Anita Shell.

But Schloss lives on Cutty Sark Street off Raspberry Road, close to both the airport and the park, Shell said. She was last seen in her house at 7 p.m. Aug. 3.

Also, Schloss's small red hatchback, an object of the initial search, was found unoccupied a week ago near the airport.

It stands to reason to comb the nearby forested areas, Shell said, since police have strong suspicions something bad has happened to her.

Schloss kept highly regular routines and was punctual and responsible, her friends say. Yet she missed a flight to Fairbanks on Aug. 5 and all her appointments since then, according to police.

She worked a week-on, week-off schedule under contract with the Tanana Chiefs Conference in Fairbanks and flew there regularly, though she did not drive to the airport for her flights, usually taking a cab, said Schloss's close friend, Gerri Yett.

"It's very scary because it could be any of us this could happen to," Yett said Wednesday. "This is a professional person with a stable lifestyle who's suddenly disappeared."

The APD asked the FBI to step into the case because the FBI has "experts in behavioral science and criminal profiling," Shell said. "It's another tool for us to draw on."

Eric Gonzalez, a special agent for the FBI, said it's not unusual for local police departments and the Alaska State Troopers to ask the FBI to lend a hand.

"Alaska being a small community, we sometimes depend on APD and the troopers for assistance, and they depend on us," Gonzalez said.

Anchorage police officers on K-9 patrol -- those accompanied by trained police dogs -- have been looking through the woods in a patterned search, grid by grid. The searches, said Shell, have been conducted by off-duty officers and their K-9 dogs.

"They've been going around DeLong Lake, Little Campbell Lake and the wooded areas around the airport because that's the area between her house and where the car was found," Shell said. "That was one of the areas she could have been taken to if she was the victim of foul play."

Police are hoping that someone saw Schloss or someone else climb in or out of her car or perhaps saw something else near Kincaid, said Shell.

"That's a big motocross area, a nice area to go hiking and biking," Shell said. "We still have good daylight hours. We ask anybody who may have seen something to call us, no matter how trivial it may seem."

"People just don't realize they saw something," Shell added. "They might think, 'Hey, that didn't strike me as odd,' but maybe it was significant."

The search for information regarding Schloss's disappearance is not confined to Anchorage but extends to Fairbanks and even Nome, according to Shell.

Schloss has friends in Nome, and the local radio station, KNOM, interviewed Shell Wednesday morning after listeners called the station wanting to know what happened to Schloss, she said.

So far police have received two anonymous Crime Stoppers tips regarding Schloss as well as several other calls from people who knew her, said Shell.

Crime Stoppers tips can be given anonymously and may bring a cash reward if they lead to a felony conviction. The number to call is 561-7867, or visit www.anchoragecrimestoppers.com to leave a tip online.

Direct calls to police can be made at 786-8500.

Find Peter Porco online at adn.com/contact/pporco or call 257-4582.