07:53 PM PST on Thursday, November 11, 2004

By DEBORAH FELDMAN / KING 5 News

OAK HARBOR, Wash. - As Searchers brought in dogs to help find a missing Oak Harbor teenager Thursday, three Arllington, Wash fire fighters reported seeing 15-year-old Elaine Sepulveda walking along a roadway.

The firefighters said they saw the girls walking along highway 9 near Arllington, prompting Snohomish County Sheriff's deputies to begin hanging more missing person's posters in the area.

The report came as dogs and volunteers entered the woods earlier in the day Thursday hugging the edges of Whidbey Island naval base.

The terrain they're covering is dense with trees, and in areas swampy, but the men and women know it's a search that has to be done.

KING

Elaine Sepulveda

"It's now day six. She hasn't been seen, she hasn't been heard from even her friends and stuff, so we have to take that next step and think that something bad maybe did happen," said Sgt. Jerry Baker of the Oak Harbor Police said before the report of Sepulveda's sighting.

Sepulveda was last seen around 1 a.m. Saturday, leaving her boyfriend's nearby house. Her friends have told police she may be several months pregnant.

Thursday's search covered an area up to a mile long and acres wide. Teams were working along a grid and using GPS to keep on track.

"No area should be missed. so when we're done today, if we don't find anything, at least we're sure nothing is there," said Baker.

Elaine Sepulveda is described as being Hispanic, about five feet tall, weighing between 115 and 130 pounds. She has brown hair and eyes. She may be using a nickname "Mandi."

If you have any information you're asked to call Oak Harbor Police.