Authorities search for Iowa teen amid rain, wind

This photo provided by The Iowa Department of Public Safety shows Kathlynn Shepard, 15. Authorities said Tuesday, May 21, 2013, a man suspected of abducting Shepard and a 12-year-old girl from a bus stop in central Iowa has been found dead, but a search continues for Shepard. (AP)

DAYTON, Iowa – Authorities on Saturday searched amid rainy and windy conditions for an Iowa teenager who was abducted Monday.

It was the sixth day searchers scoured various areas in central Iowa for 15-year-old Kathlynn Shepard, who was kidnapped along with a 12-year-old friend from a school bus stop.

Police have said Michael Klunder, 42, abducted the girls in Dayton, a small town about 60 miles north of Des Moines, after asking if they wanted to make money mowing lawns. Investigators said he took them to a hog confinement building where he worked. The 12-year-old girl was able to escape when Klunder took Kathlynn to another part of the property. Klunder committed suicide hours later.

Only trained personnel, not volunteers, took part in Saturday's search for Kathlynn, the Des Moines Register reported.

Officials were combing an area Saturday between the hog confinement and a spot several miles southeast where their backpacks were found late Tuesday.

Authorities' hopes of finding Kathlynn alive were dampened Thursday, when her blood was found on Klunder's truck and at the hog confinement site.

Still, some 150 law enforcement officials and 200 volunteers searched Friday throughout parts of three rural counties.

Among those volunteers was John Porter, 49, of Lehigh, who had helped search every day beginning Monday night.

"I'm tired, but who cares until we find her," Porter told the Register. "It makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it."