Police continue search for missing ISU student

The missing persons case of ISU junior Scott Javins teetered on the edge of finality Sunday, as relatives and friends waited with anxiety, frustration, but above all, hope.\n"I think this is it," said CC Brown, a close friend of Javins. "We all need closure; his parents need closure."\nJavins was last seen driving a 2002 Silver Honda Civic SI on May 23 at 2 a.m. at the intersection of First Avenue and 22nd Street in Terre Haute. \nFriday, police impounded a burgundy Cadillac and searched a house on Terre Haute's northside for anything that could be linked to Javins' disappearance.\nLt. Steve Barnhart of the Terre Haute police department said the investigation of the house led to nothing but marijuana and nuisance-related arrests. But two members of the residence, Rozanne Hiter, 52, and her son Scott Hiter, 28, were being questioned late Friday about the case.\nA tip on the anonymous Crimestoppers telephone line on Thursday led to the Friday searches. For much of the day on Friday, and nearly all of Saturday and Sunday, police combed an area near Darwin's Ferry and Old Maple Avenue in southern Vigo County.\nThe Hiters are now officially considered suspects in the case since a news conference was held at the Vigo County Sheriff's Department Sunday at 5 p.m. after a long day searching in the field. However, no official charges will be brought up until the state attorney or U.S. attorney prosecutors can be contacted.\nLt. Barnhart also commented on the state of information concerning Javins' status.\n"We still don't know yet," Barnhart said. "We haven't found the car or his body."\nMerv Javins, Scott's father, said there have been only tips and hints, but nothing absolute. Mr. Javins was also in the field with the police, and even with the looming notion that evidence of his son's well or ill-being could be footsteps away, he maintained an optimistic outlook. \n"Right now, we don't know what to expect, but we're thinking positively," he said.\nMr. Javins and Brown both said that all through the entire ordeal, the community has shown overflowing support, which is evident in the $25,000 reward fund that has been raised throughout the weeks of waiting.\nStill, signs have been shown of a community's lack of empathy when it comes to a drawn out investigation.\nBrown spoke of a poster of Javins hanging in the Payless Shoe Store where she works. Brown said at times, people would pass and speak indifferently of her close friend's disappearance.\n"I'd hear things like 'That kid's dead,' and it breaks my heart," Brown said. "It seems everyone has something to say, but they don't understand what we're going through."\nThe shuttering in Brown's voice, the constant phone calls concerning updates and a continuing delay on the release of official information seems to have left the lives of those close to Javins in a frenzy.\n"This has turned our lives upside down," Brown said. "We don't know what to believe, and when we should be the first to know something, we're often the last."\nThe search for more evidence will continue for the time being, with family, friends and community on high alert.\n"The Javins are a wonderful family," Brown said. "It's a shame something this stressful had to happen to them"