"That may be what we have to do," he concedes.

Verity doesn't like the reality of it, but he would rather tell the parents that they found no sign of blood or struggle, either, and while that is not necessarily encouraging, perhaps it might suggest their children aren't hurt. Or they weren't when they disappeared.

"We'll go to the edge of the mountains and turn back if we must. We will know we have to search further, we will have a direction."