Corey Fox and Brandon Thrasher munched on sandwiches and snacks Tuesday afternoon during a short break in the search for Brooke Wilberger.

The two Salem men had spent several hours hiking through some of the thickest brush and briars that has been searched since the 19-year-old Veneta woman disappeared from a southwest Corvallis apartment complex May 24.

It was the men's experience in rough terrain that brought them to the mid-valley as members of Simpson Wildland Firefighting, a private company from Salem. Simpson has sent volunteers since the first days of the search.

"We have experience in the bushes. We have experience finding stuff," Fox said.

John Harding, the company's crew boss, saw news of the suspected abduction and helped form a group to join the search. When it's not firefighting season, the crew also plants trees and thins forests.

Simpson sent more than 10 people several days last week, but that number was down to six Tuesday as several people had to return to other jobs.

Peggy Peirson, Benton County's emergency services coordinator, said the crew's experience and knowledge of forested and brush-covered land makes the help invaluable.

"Because of that we were able to put them in more of the challenging areas," she said.

Monday, the Simpson crew found itself chest deep in water as it crossed the Marys River to avoid trespassing on property belonging to an owner who didn't give the crew permission to search.

Harding, wearing a "Find Brooke" button with Wilberger's picture on it, said the terrain covered in the last week is different from the steep hills covered in fires, but it provides its own challenges.

"It can wake us up to get ready for the season," he said. "It doesn't matter to us. We just want to find her."

Fox said his crew is more concerned with finding Wilberger than worrying about their work.

"Mostly we're in high altitudes fighting fires," he said. "This is flat ground. It's pretty easy for us."

With experience in searching for missing persons, Thrasher said time is short.

"I just know more and more the likelihood of finding her is growing slim and slim," he said.

Tuesday, the ninth day in the search for Wilberger, passed without any solid leads and no named suspects. Searches — primarily in south Corvallis — produced no items that could be linked to the disappearance.

Corvallis Police Lt. Noble said frustration continues to grow among investigators and searchers with no strong evidence on which to build.

"But people are still optimistic," he said.

As with the Simpson employees, the number of searchers dropped off considerably Tuesday — as expected by organizers — given the end of the Memorial Day weekend. Still, though, dozens of searchers arrived by bus from the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where volunteer efforts are coordinated.

"We've been told as long as we're searching there will be volunteers," Noble said.

He added that the search will continue to cover any areas Wilberger could be.

"We're going to err on the side of doing too much," Noble said.

At a glance

Brooke Carol Wilberger is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 105 to 119 pounds. The Veneta woman was last seen 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 from a gymnastics accident.

Corvallis Police 24-hour tip line: 766-6989, or toll free at 877-367-2270

Web site: The Wilberger family has created a site for tips and information at www.findbrooke.com

To volunteer: Call 740-3640, 740-3641, 740-3642 or 740-3643

Search Web site:http://web.engr.oregonstate.edu/~rpandey/missing

Reward fund: Wilberger's father, Greg Wilberger, is a process engineer for Borden Chemical, which has made a $25,000 contribution to a reward fund established for information leading to Brooke Wilberger's return. In all, the reward has grown to more than $30,000.