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Sheriff: Will scale back on search, rely on tips

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The Martin County Sheriff’s office said they are leaving no stone left unturned in the search for Tricia Todd. But plans now include scaling back on ground crews that have been searching, and relying now on public tips.

Tuesday search efforts focused from the beaches to the trails.  Deputies said Todd liked taking nature walks.

“We are pretty much just going down as many trails that lead us down to the waterway,” said Deputy Matthew Fritchie.

The search was by no means easy.  Some of the trails were incredibly dense.  But deputies said no piece of evidence was too small in the search for the missing Hobe Sound mother.

“If we can find one thing that will help us with a direction to go,” he said. “If it is a foul play type deal, or if it is she just walked off and got injured.”

At this point they don’t know what, if anything, happened to her.  They focused on finding evidence and unusual smells, and are now relying on tips from the very interested public.

I just hope they find her alive very sad,” said Jim Billue, a Hobe Sound resident.

Investigators also plan to focus on surveillance video gathered Monday and area businesses.  They planned to go frame by frame during the time period of Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, trying to catch a glimpse of Todd or her car.

Meanwhile, volunteers, separate from the sheriff’s office met in Stuart on Tuesday night to hand out flyers. They decided on their own to expand the search into Stuart.