Location of bodies remains a mystery

An intense search area was along the Ohio Turnpike.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- Beneath a photo of a smiling Sarah Gehring, an English teacher evoked her energy and effervescence.
"She was a can of Coke all shook up and opened at full blast most of the day," Tim Dougherty wrote on the Concord High School yearbook page dedicated to the 14-year-old. She and her 11-year-old brother, Philip, were last seen with their father at last year's July Fourth fireworks show.
Their father, Manuel Gehring, killed the children, then drove cross-country and later told authorities he buried them in the Midwest, not far from Interstate 80. One of the most intense search areas was along the Ohio Turnpike in northwest Ohio.
Witnesses said Gehring and his daughter were arguing after the fireworks and the children were crying. Gehring was unhappy with a new custody arrangement between him and his ex-wife, Terri Knight, reached a week earlier. He later accused her of not bearing her share of child support and rushing into a relationship with the man who eventually became her second husband.
Gehring killed himself in jail in February. His children's bodies still haven't been found.
Tips
Police received numerous tips in New Hampshire and across the country about possible sightings of the Gehrings. A new round of tips came through in May when Knight pleaded with people who live along the interstate to "just take a walk" and look around. But nothing came of the tips, said Jeff Strelzin, assistant attorney general.
"At this point, there's just nothing else for us to follow up on," he said. "The search area is so broad that there's no way to go back out there without additional information."
Authorities still are waiting for FBI lab test results on soil found in Gehring's van. The soil "could potentially be associated with the grave site," Strelzin said. "You can sometimes get very specific locations or areas from these tests."
In Concord, Sarah and Philip will be remembered at today's fireworks show. A special display containing the children's favorite colors will be launched, purple for Sarah and yellow for Philip.
The case is far from forgotten elsewhere, too.
Probe continues
Robert Hawk, a spokesman for the FBI in northern Ohio, said the Toledo office has checked out 299 leads, nearly all last year, since the children were last seen.
"I don't think anybody's given up," said Capt. Paul Sigsworth with the Erie County Sheriff's office. "We just haven't received any tips. We're at a standstill."
Not one lead has come in this year, he said.
Near the Indiana-Ohio state line, where authorities searched backroads and corn fields last summer, it's the same situation.
The children's disappearance was a big story, but there's little talk about it now, said Karen Hahn, a clerk in the Williams County Sheriff's office.
And Manuel Gehring's death makes it even more unlikely that their grave will be found, she said.
"We may never know where those children are," she said.