Police focus child search at I-80 exits

8/14/2003

Authorities are searching a 5-mile area around each interchange on the Ohio Turnpike between the Pennsylvania and Indiana lines for the bodies of two New Hampshire children allegedly killed by their father and buried near I-80.

Authorities said they have not received a specific tip, but simply want to conduct a thorough search for the bodies. They have searched four counties through which the turnpike runs, Ohio Highway Patrol Lt. Rick Fambro said yesterday. He said the search began Tuesday.

The Toledo FBI office has received 92 credible tips since specific information about the burial site was released about three weeks ago, Special Agent Lou Genide said.

Manuel Gehring, 44, is accused of killing his children, Sarah, 14, and Phillip, 11. He told authorities he shot them in New Hampshire after watching Fourth of July fireworks in Concord. He said he buried them in a shallow grave in the Midwest. He is charged with murder.