Holly Bobo Search Hampered by Volunteer Group, Cops Claim

June 2, 2011 — -- Police searching for missing nursing student Holly Bobo have complained that a volunteer group of searchers are hindering the investigation by putting out "false leads."

Bobo, 20, hasn't been seen since April 13 when a man in camouflage marched her into the woods near her home in rural Decatur County, about three hours from Nashville, Tenn. The two month search has ground to a dead end. Police have called off additional searches and said they have no suspects in her disappearance.

Her brother Clint, 25, saw her go into the woods, but mistakenly believed the man was her boyfriend. Neither Clint nor Bobo's boyfriend are suspects in the case.

Kristin Helm, the public information officer for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, the status of the case is "open and ongoing."

Helm says that the bureau is "continuing to work on the case and hoping someone will come forward with information." She says there have been no new developments in the past few weeks.

The only development has been the TBI claiming that an Ohio-based group called Tactical Search and Rescue is hindering their investigation with "false leads" and "incorrect" information.

The volunteer group insists they are not interfering and that they continue to receive three to four good leads a week that are not being taken seriously by officials.

"So far the TBI has basically shot us down and called us liars," said Tony Calabrese, 46, the group's founder.

Calabrese, who previously worked in the music recording industry, started the group's website because he could relate to the family's pain. He says his own two daughters were kidnapped by a family member in 1999, and safely recovered after three days.

Calabrese believes his group has been wrongly dismissed by the police. "I don't see how anybody helping search could hinder an investigation when they're providing leads," said Calabrese. "There's no shame to law enforcement admitting to or asking for outside help."

"We are not working in cooperation or conjunction with that investigation," said TBI spokesperson Helm. "They do not have firsthand knowledge of the case."

Calabrese said he has spoken to two of Bobo's family members, but has been asked not to disclose who those relatives are. He says that her family is "very appreciative of what we're doing" and says he has never been told by them to stop what he is doing.

The Bobo family spokesperson was not available for immediate comment to ABCNews.com, but spokesman Kevin Bromley told Nashville's ABC affiliate News 2, "We also need to be very careful in spreading things we may not know that may be absolutely true."

Calabrese has rejected any suggestion that he is involved for financial reasons.

"We do everything on our own time and out of our own pockets," said Calabrese.

There is an $80,000 reward being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for Bobo's disappearance, but Calabrese insists that if he were able to help solve this case and offered the reward, he would either refuse it or turn all of the money over to a children's charity.

Calabrese has no plans to stop investigating until Bobo is found.

Bobo is 5-feet-3 and weighs 110 pounds. She was last seen in blue jeans and a pink shirt.