Man Sought in Teen's 'Suspicious' Disappearance

Jan. 21, 2008 — -- Police in Reno, Nev., want to talk to a man they believe may have information about a 19-year-old woman's "suspicious" disappearance Sunday.

Brianna Denison was last seen around 4 a.m. Sunday when she went to sleep on the sofa at a friend's house near the University of Nevada in Reno. The two had been at a party at the Sands Regency Hotel Casino earlier in the night. The friend gave Denison a blanket and pillow before going upstairs to bed.

When the friend came downstairs later in the day, Denison was missing and a bloodstain the size of a "silver dollar" was on the pillow she had been using, Lt. Robert Macdonald, a spokesman for the Reno Police Department, told ABC News.

The blood caused some alarm for police, Macdonald said, but the bigger concern was that it appeared Denison had disappeared wearing no shoes and only the sweats and a light shirt she'd worn to bed. Her cell phone and purse had also been left behind.

"It's all very suspicious at this point," Macdonald said. "She hasn't attempted contact with any family members or friends." Denison's mother, her only surviving parent, has been in contact with authorities and her boyfriend, who lives in Oregon, was in his home state Saturday night.

The search intensified today when authorities announced that they wanted to talk to an unnamed man in his 40s who may have information on Denison's whereabouts.

A man in a sport utility vehicle picked up one of Denison's friends around 1 a.m. Sunday at the Sands Regency Hotel Casino after she failed to find a taxi. The driver dropped her at the house where Denison was staying. While the ride was without incident and police are not calling the man a "suspect," they say that he is a "person of interest" who may know something about the disappearance. "It's a leaf that's unturned," Macdonald said.

Reno police released a surveillance image showing the man's beige or light-brown Chevrolet Suburban leaving the casino's parking lot Sunday morning. The unidentified driver is described as a white male, possibly of Latin descent, with a medium build. He was well-dressed, according to police.

Authorities also announced that a brown stuffed bear about 2 feet tall was missing from the house where the man had dropped Denison's friend. Denison's friend gave her the stuffed animal to use as an additional pillow before the two went to bed around 4 a.m. Sunday. Denison was reported missing around 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Macdonald said that there was no indication Denison had been drinking heavily or using drugs Saturday night and that none of the roommates who live in the house reported any altercations at the casino party. The house, which is rented by college students, was not locked during the night, so there is no evidence of a forced entry.

Denison is a student at Santa Barbara City College in California but is from the Reno area.

She is described as 5 feet tall, weighing 98 pounds, with long dark brown hair and blue eyes. Detectives say Denison may be wearing light-blue or pink sweat pants and a white tank top.