The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page B10

BIO South Jersey www.philly.com THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Tuesday, January 22, 2002 Case of missing student baffles police and family Mil REWari With Winning Points, you can eat what everyone else is eating. So you can stay satisfied, stick with the plan, and reach your goals. JOIN NOW FOR ONLY $20! SAVE $15! HURRY! OFFER ENDS FEBRUARY 2. While they understand the family's frustration and anguish, investigators say they have done everything possible including running down bogus tips. On Friday, an area resident reported getting a middle-of-the-night call from a young woman who gave her name as "Cindy" and said: "My place is a mess and my leg is bleeding," then hung up.

Police traced the call to two teenage girls, who were charged yesterday with disorderly conduct. "We want people to know we're taking this very seriously," said Ferguson Township Detective Brian Sprinkle, the local police officer heading the investigation. Sprinkle is frustrated, too. "We have no clues, no leads," he said. Investigators have even sent information on the case to America's Most Wanted in hopes that the TV show, which has helped find missing and wanted people, will do a segment on Song's disappearance.

But with each passing day, it's harder not to think the worst. Was someone waiting for Song at her apartment that night? Did someone come after she returned? Had she arranged to meet someone? Did she run out to a nearby all-night supermarket and get abducted? Could Song have committed suicide or just decided to run away? Song's brother said he can't imagine either scenario. Investigators will say only that they continue to pursue all possibilities. And Kiho Song continues to worry and chafe. "Police investigators at this point are deadlocked," he said, through a university-provided translator, during an interview last week in the university's student center.

"Like everyone else," Kiho Song said, "they need to renew their attention to this case. I'm trying to make everyone aware, to ask anyone for help." His mother and other members of his family have suffered greatly through this "tragedy," he said. "What makes it even sadder," he said, "is that nobody knows exactly what that tragedy was." Penn State senior Cindy Song has not been seen since Nov. 1. "We have no clues," a detective said.

By Marc Schogol INQUIRER STAFF WRITER STATE COLLEGE, Pa. It's been 82 days since anyone has seen or heard from Pennsylvania State University senior Cindy Song. And nobody has a clue where she is. Song, 21, was last seen by a friend who drove her back to her off-campus apartment complex after a Halloween party that spilled into the early morning hours of Nov. 1.

Since Song was reported missing by friends three days later, local police and the FBI have conducted air searches, ground searches and dog searches of this hilly, wooded, rural portion of central Pennsylvania. Missing-person flyers and posters describing the 5-foot-3, 110-pound Song have been widely posted and distributed. Investigators have questioned Song's friends and acquaintances and checked her phone, Internet, credit card and ATM records and tips, including a possible sighting in Philadelphia. The university community is offering a total of $27,000 for information. But no trace of Song has been found.

It's not unusual for college students to disappear for a day or two, Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said. "They go away with a roommate or make other plans and don't tell their family and friends," he said. "A day or two. After that, you know something's wrong." The last similar case anyone at Penn State can recall was in March 1987, when a female student was found slain in an off-campus apartment. The crime was never solved.

Hyun Jong "Cindy" Song, who is from Seoul, South Korea, came to the United States seven years ago to stay with relatives near Alexandria, Va. Song went to high school there and then went to Penn State, majoring in integrative arts. She had many friends, especially among the university's Korean community. Since her disappearance, Join now and get "Today's Special" our new guide to satisfying meal and snack ideas free! SCOTT S. HAMRICK Inquirer Staff Kiho Song walks the Penn State campus with a flyer about his sister.

"I'm trying to make everyone aware," he said. Song's mother has come here from Korea several times. Song's brother, Kiho Song, 26, has temporarily moved here from Korea to monitor the investigation, of which he has become critical. In the weeks after Cindy Song's disappearance, there was much concern among fellow students especially members of the student Black Caucus, which is especially sensitive to the experience of minority students on an overwhelmingly white campus. But over time, the general level of awareness and interest has mostly vanished as have most of the posters put up all over campus that urged anyone with information to call police at 800-479-0050.

"It concerns me, but I'm not especially afraid," Melissa Pothering, 20, a junior psychology major from Pottsville, said last week of Song's disappearance. With a new term, students have other pressing matters that demand their attention, Pothering said. "It's like I've gradually put it in the back of my mind. It's just one thing that happened to happen. If it happened more than once, I would be concerned." Kiho Song is very unhappy about that kind of attitude and about the investigation.

He has complained to South Korea's New York consulate, several Korean TV news crews that have reported on the disappearance, and anyone else who will listen. 1 .800.430.4330 WeightWatchers.com to find the meeting nearest you. realfood.reallife.real results. Offer valid until February 2, 2002 in New Jersey, except Bergen, Hudson and parts of Gloucester, Burlington and Camden counties. May not be combined with any other discount or special rate.

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For your convenience, please arrive 30 minutes prior for registration and weigh-in. Marc Schogol's e-mail address is mschogolphillynews.com. Jl JJ SUBSCRIBE ID THE INQUIRER AND GEI FREE IRE BOOK OR VIDEO Of THE INQUIRER STORY THAT GREW INTO THE HOLLYWOOD MOVIE 'BLACK HAWK DDI' Want the reai story Long before Black Hawk Down was a huge Hollywood movie, it was a breathtaking Inquirer series reported by ar Knuuraurt nA nmfif a -tuauv ncrr rvr fin mo riaricar ir ht behind the Black Hawk Down tale? Order a 13-week subscription to The Inquirer, and you'll get a free copy of Somalia: Good Intentions, Deadly Results, the official companion documentary video to the Black Hawk down adventure. first brought you the story, and you'll get the Black Hawk Down book that compiles the real story. Act now, and your book will be auto- lips I graphed by Mark Bowden himself.