Though Mathews will not speculate whether the girls are alive or if they knew their abductor, he does believe "we're dealing with the same individual responsible for both acts." He also says, "There likely will be more victims."

Former FBI profiler Van Zandt says authorities are most likely looking for a white male in his mid-30s with limited education and a trail of broken relationships with women. "He's choosing children young enough to entice and intimidate," he says. "If he confronted an adult female, he would feel inadequate." He says that two men may have staged the abductions together. "It's very difficult for one person to use force on an individual when he has to drive a car," concurs Robert Ressler, also a former profiler. Both men see parallels with an unsolved case involving the disappearances of three teenage girls in 1996 and 1997 in Spotsylvania County, Va. As yet, the FBI has been unable to establish a link.

In Oregon City investigators continue to sift through the many parallels between the two girls, hunting for clues. Both stand about 5'4" tall, weigh 110 lbs. and have brown eyes and a long tangle of hair. In addition to living in the same complex, attending the same school and competing on the same dance team, each is one of several children being raised by a single mother. Both are estranged from a father who has had run-ins with the law. "We have no evidence that leads us to believe anyone connected with either family is involved," says Police Chief Huiras.

On the day Ashley disappeared, not quite two months shy of her 13th birthday, the school never phoned to report her absence. Lori Pond, a stay-at-home mom, was unaware that anything was wrong until Ashley failed to return home that afternoon. After waiting several hours, she called the police and told a dispatcher, "She's 12. Ashley would never run away."