Fayetteville police still following leads in missing soldier mystery

Pfc. Kelli Marie Bordeaux, 23, was last seen in the early hours of April 14 at a Fayetteville bar called Froggy Bottoms, where she had gone the night before to sing karaoke.

Investigators have not named any suspects in the disappearance but have said they believe she left the bar with Nicholas Holbert, a 25-year-old convicted sex offender, whom she met at the bar a week before.

Holbert, who lived in a lean-to behind the bar, has said he dropped her off at the entrance to the apartment complex where she lived with her husband, who was in Florida visiting family that weekend.

Holbert has said he had nothing to do with Bordeaux's disappearance. He was arrested, however, shortly after Bordeaux's disappearance for failing to register as a sex offender.

Bordeaux was last seen wearing a pink tube top, black shorts and a pair of flip-flops that investigators have described as being "bedazzled."

Police have set up a special hotline – 910-433-1114 – for tips in the case, and an $8,000 reward is being offered for information leading to her discovery.

Hundreds of volunteers have searched the area around Bordeaux's home, the Ramsey Street bar where she had been and a pond in rural Cumberland County but have found no signs of her.

"One little thing could lead us, if we could just find one little thing," said Tim Kassner, who, along with his 11-year-old daughter, has assisted in the search.

Another search is planned for Saturday. Volunteers will meet at 8 a.m. in the Food Lion parking lot at 150 Andrews Road.

Froggy Bottoms closed soon after Bordeaux's disappearance, when the owner was arrested on warrants unrelated to the soldier's case.