COLERAIN TOWNSHIP -- Mary Jennifer Love's mother woke up Tuesday with a good feeling that her 6-year-old daughter would return home later in the day.
"We're going to have a big party when she comes home," said Carol Williams, 35, outside her Springwood Village apartment early Tuesday, before media again swarmed the apartment complex.
By late Tuesday, there was still no sign of the 3-foot-6-inch Colerain Township girl with braided hair. She disappeared a week ago today. Search dogs Tuesday eliminated the possibility that Mary was in the wooded area around her apartment, and Tri-State Search and Rescue, with the help of a team of search dogs from Michigan, expanded the perimeters of the search north to the Butler County line and south to Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway.
Hamilton County investigators also continued to follow up on leads, trying to confirm reported sightings of Mary. On Tuesday, they hadn't been able to verify any of those tips, including a tip from a waitress at Denny's on Colerain Avenue who said she saw Mary with a white man driving a tan or gold van the night she disappeared, said Steve Barnett, spokesman for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department.
"There is very little they can eliminate at this point," he said. "All options are still open."
Separately, about 30 family members and friends searched for more than four hours behind businesses and in wooded areas along Colerain Avenue and Poole Road looking for any sign of the little girl.
Family and neighbors continued to support Mrs. Williams and her family inside the home Tuesday, staying away from TV cameras and reporters.
After a week, the front window at Mary's apartment is filled with cards and wishes for her safe return. An electric candle with a pink ribbon tied around it sits in the middle of the cards.
Outside, investigators and searchers continued their quest to answer the hopes and prayers of the family and community.
Dogs from Tri-State Search and Rescue Inc., an independent volunteer search agency based in Mount Healthy, again scoured woods surrounding Springwood Village. Monday evening and Tuesday, it had help from five search dogs from Great Lakes Search and Rescue of Michigan, which Tri-State Search and Rescue members had called in to help.
The dogs picked up Mary's scent near a big tree in front of her apartment and at the AmeriStop lot where there was an unconfirmed sighting of Mary the night she disappeared.
But by Tuesday afternoon, searchers determined the 6-year-old wasn't in the area and search teams split off in different directions to search wooded areas. The dogs didn't indicate that Mary had been in any of those areas, said Robert Spratt, commander of the Tri-State Search and Rescue team.
Searchers thought a tip that Mary was sighted in an apartment complex about three miles south of her apartment Monday night might be true, but further questioning determined that the woman who phoned with the tip saw another little girl.
Still, searchers pressed on in all directions.
"It's tough," said Michael Mitchell, a member of Tri-State Search and Rescue. "You can imagine what the family and relatives are going through."
"This is not a state line issue," added Sandra Anderson, who traveled from Michigan with her Great Lakes Search and Rescue group. "Any time a family needs help, we are there."
Anyone with information should call the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department at 825-1500. A fund has been set up in Mary's name at Fifth Third Bank.
