Brooke's family trying to rebuild lives.

Byline: Scott Maben The Register-Guard

Life never again will be the same for Cammy and Greg Wilberger, but the Veneta couple have begun to return to former routines since their daughter, Brooke, vanished in Corvallis three weeks ago.

"Everybody's doing what they usually do," Cammy Wilberger said Monday. "We've realized that we have to put part of our life back to the regular schedule. It's not as easy, but we're trying to do it."

Brooke Wilberger, 19, disappeared the morning of May 24 while working in an apartment complex on the edge of the Oregon State University campus. After weeks of furious searching, police have no idea what happened to the Brigham Young University student, other than their strong suspicion that she was abducted.

Corvallis police have taken a strong interest in a report of an attempted kidnapping Friday of a 17-year-old girl in Lebanon, 18 miles from where Wilberger disappeared. Authorities are searching for the man, who was seen driving a silver Honda Accord with a gold tint. He since may have approached two other young women on that city's streets, police said Monday.

"We're going to treat this as a very high party of interest," Corvallis Police Capt. Robert Deutsch said. "This is probably the strongest development" currently in the Wilberger case.

Wilberger's parents and her extended family kept vigil in Corvallis the first 1 1/2 weeks while thousands of volunteers fanned out to scour wooded areas, riverbanks and fields near where Wilberger was last seen.

"I always wondered how people could keep up hope for a long period of time," Cammy Wilberger said. "But time fades and you don't even realize how much time has gone by. It seems like yesterday (Brooke disappeared).'

But slowly, they're allowing other events back into their lives. The family has celebrated a couple of birthdays in recent weeks, and Greg and Cammy Wilberger attended an OSU graduation ceremony Sunday for their son, Bryce.

Greg Wilberger, a process engineer for Borden Chemical, recently flew to California on a business trip, and Cammy returned to her Bethel School District classroom Monday to clean up for the summer break. She plans to resume teaching in the fall.

"Our lives have been changed forever," she said. "Even when Brooke comes back, our lives will never be the same. The healthy thing for Brooke and ourselves is to try to be the best we can be. That includes trying to get back to some of these regular things."

Yet the mysterious disappearance remains in the foreground of their lives. On Saturday night, Greg and Cammy attended a community concert in Corvallis organized to thank volunteers for their help in looking for their daughter and to benefit the search fund.

On Monday, Greg was back in Corvallis to meet with OSU Federal Credit Union officials about the fund set up on behalf of the search effort.

A separate reward fund for Wilberger's safe return or the prosecution of her abductor has grown to more than $30,000.

As they begin their summer, the Wilbergers plan to stay close to home and tapped into the investigation. A German exchange student who stayed with the family for a year plans a long visit.

"We told her to come on and stay with us," Cammy said. "She's going to do a road trip with some other friends and use our place as a home base."

Pictures and descriptions of Brooke Wilberger, along with the details of her abduction, remain plastered in public places across the region. They range in size from business cards and buttons to banners and billboards. Missing posters have been printed in English, Chinese, French, German, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Tips to a police hot line continue to generate focused searches every few days.

Cammy Wilberger said she hopes people keep their eyes open for any clues to her daughter's whereabouts as they prepare for summer vacations and camping trips.

In the meantime, she said she's touched by the considerable attention and support from friends and strangers throughout the Willamette Valley.

"The community of Corvallis itself and all the churches there have been just so sensitive and helpful," she said. "Eugene has been wonderful, too, as has the Fern Ridge area and Veneta."

SEARCH CONTINUES

The family of Brooke Wilberger continues to hope for the missing woman's safe return.

Description: 5-foot-4, 105 to 119 pounds, blond hair, blue eyes. Last seen May 24 wearing a T-shirt with "BYU Soccer" in small print; an indigo "Fresh Jive" sweatshirt; blue jeans and no shoes. She was wearing a ring engraved with the letters CTR, small hoop earrings and possibly a silver watch. She has a piercing in the top of her right ear and a scar on her right forearm from her wrist to her elbow.

Corvallis police 24-hour tip line: [phone] or toll free at [phone]

Anonymous tips: e-mail [e-mail]

Family Web site: www.findbrooke.com

To volunteer: Call [phone] (or 3641, 3642 or 3643)

CAPTION(S):

A sign on Coburg Road in Eugene is one of many public notices seeking clues to the disappearance of Brooke Wilberger, whose parents live in Veneta. "The healthy thing for Brooke and ourselves is to try to be the best we can be. That includes trying to get back to some of these regular things." - CAMMY WILBERGER, MISSING WOMAN'S MOTHER