Police present new theory in Behrman case

It's been nearly a year.\nNineteen-year-old Jill Behrman, a lifelong Bloomington resident who had just completed her freshman year at IU, went for a bike ride the morning of May 31, 2000. She never returned.\nHer bicycle was recovered later that day in a cornfield near Ellettsville, miles away from where she was last seen. Since then, police and the FBI have been investigating the presumed abduction.\nWednesday, authorities announced they're pursuing the case from a different angle -- a covered-up accident. \n"We've talked to thousands of folks," FBI agent Gary Dunn said. "And we keep coming up with a recurring story. We believe someone struck Jill, and then cooler heads and common sense did not prevail. We believe someone -- someone local -- tried to cover it up."\nDunn has been on the case since last June with another FBI special agent and two detectives from the Bloomington Police Department. With a $50,000 reward for information, the investigators have received roughly 3,000 tips. They've interviewed hundreds of people -- Jill's friends, her family and area residents.\n"It's a compilation of all those sources," Dunn said. "We believe there's a conspiracy of silence. We know people have information, and they're not coming forward with it. We literally plead with people -- there's no information too insignificant."\nThe investigators have read Jill's diaries, her address book and her e-mail -- anything that might give a clue of who might have wanted to harm her. They've conducted several searches -- at Lake Monroe, at local motels and in wooded areas. \n"We've been working hard to leave no stone unturned," BPD detective Marty Deckard said. "We're practically married to the FBI. We go everywhere they go." \nAfter the tireless work they've put into the case, investigators now doubt an out-of-towner or acquaintance kidnapped Behrman.\n"We're putting together the pieces of the puzzle," Deckard said. "And while this is still ongoing and we don't rule out anything, we believe this was local in nature."\nWhile they're looking into a few leads, authorities still lack suspects. But Dunn emphasized they would not close the case until those responsible for Jill's disappearance are brought to justice.\n"We're not going to discard any scenario," he said. "We're looking into everything, and we're not about to give up."\nFriends and family, who still have trouble coping with the loss, appreciate the investigators' efforts.\n"It's really hard that it's still a mystery," said junior Heidi Morgan, a childhood friend of Jill's who attended Bloomington High School South with her. "We have to do everything we can."\nJill's mother, Marilyn, joined agent Dunn at the press conference to renew the call for information.\n"Sometimes I am very, very angry," she said. "Sometimes I am very, very sad. We need to find Jill -- she is not just a missing person. I believe someone out there can help us find Jill"