Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Workers from the state Department of Corrections help in the search for Gabrielle Miranda Bechen in Dunkard, Greene County, yesterday. Click photo for larger image.

DUNKARD, Pa. -- As the search continued yesterday and into the night for Gabrielle Miranda Bechen, residents were understandably distressed that she hadn't been found, but nary an eyebrow was raised at the fact the 12-year-old was last seen leaving her home on an all-terrain vehicle.

That's because in rural areas like this Greene County township, boys and girls even much younger than Gabrielle drive ATVs, which don't require a driver's license.

Yesterday, more than 185 police, firefighters, corrections officers and volunteers, many of them riding their own ATVs, combed the hilly wooded terrain for signs of the girl who disappeared Tuesday morning. The FBI also joined the search.

State police Trooper Joseph Christy said the FBI involvement is precautionary because if the disappearance does turn out to be an abduction, federal authorities will have a head start. The FBI also has authority in cases that cross state lines, and the Greensboro area of the county is near the West Virginia border.

It was only natural that ATVs were such an integral part of the search in Greene County.

Gabrielle Miranda Bechen

So ingrained into the culture are teens driving ATVs that it may be the rural equivalent of suburban kids hanging out at a shopping mall -- only they do it much more frequently, usually daily.

And, unlike mall hanging, riding ATVs or quads is viewed here and in other rural areas as recreation that the whole family can enjoy together.

"Around here, there's not a lot to do. There's football, quad riding and hunting," said Steve Salisbury of Newtown, who showed up at the staging area with his wife and son and their ATVs for a third consecutive day of searching for Gabrielle.

"I don't know what they do in the city, but we like it. If you look in any garage, you'll find one."

His son, Steven, 12, who knows Gabrielle from school, has been driving one since he was 4 or 5 years old, even before he learned to ride a bicycle. Mr. Salisbury and his wife, Diane, learned when they were young, too, and rare is the day they don't ride.

	Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Diane Salisbury, of Newtown, Greene County, drives an all-terrain vechicle with her mother, Jane Howard, to search in the woods near the home of Gabrielle Miranda Bechen, who has been missing since Tuesday when she left her home to ride her ATV. Click photo for larger image.

They enjoy it so much, view it as such as family activity, that they've put their backs into clearing ATV trails on their property, including one specifically for young children.

"There are little hills, a figure-8 and small mud puddles," Mr. Salisbury said. "The parents go up there to watch the kids. We have a blast. It's like a playground for quads."

But the Salisburys make sure the youngsters don't view the ATVs as toys but rather as the powerful machines they are. They don't permit children to ride without parental supervision. And they utilize devices on the throttles that set the top speeds the ATVs can reach.

"They're dangerous if you don't respect them," Diane Salisbury said. "You have to be trained. You have to know what you're doing."

Gabrielle's parents did not speak to reporters yesterday, but the girl's mother, Blanche Bechen, 38, on Wednesday said that the whole family liked to ride ATVs.

There's no denying the popularity. Currently, in Pennsylvania there are 230,633 registered with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. All ATVs must be registered with the state, but those who only use their vehicles on their own land don't have to pay the $20 fee every two years.

Christina Novak, DCNR communications director, said there are untold numbers of unregistered ATVs.

"There is no definitive estimate, but I think it would be safe saying there are tens of thousands of unregistered ATVs in Pennsylvania," she said.

In Greene County, there are nearly 2,000 registered ATVs -- 1,077 for use on the owner's land and 792 for use wherever permitted.

At the search site, David Pritchard, assistant chief of the Bobtown Fire Department, rode an ATV to deliver bottled water to reporters who were kept in a field about a half mile from the command post near the Bechens' house.

"We use them a lot on farms," Mr. Pritchard said of utility quads, which are used for everything from towing to plowing. "They're as much a work thing as a play thing. If you're fixing fences, it beats walking."

He, his wife and two children, ages 14 and 16, each have one. The kids learned to ride when they were younger than 10.

"Everybody's got them around here," he said.

Because there are so many in this area, there wasn't a problem rounding up quads to help search for Gabrielle.

Dennis Chaney, of the Mountaineer Rescue Group, said about 50 ATVs were used in the search Wednesday. It's rare, indeed, for rural family members, children included, not to drive one, he said.

"It's sad to say but to city people it looks like we're nuts. ... But we're country folk and we've been raised this way," said Mr. Chaney, who is handling logistics for the search. He sat atop a green utility ATV as he instructed volunteer drivers where to park their quads.

As the evening wore on, many of the searchers were sent home. Because of the dangerous landscape, authorities did not want to run the risk of injury to the search teams.

Trooper Christy said yesterday that officials checked the family's computer and did not find anything useful.

Officials said the search will continue until there is some definite resolution about the girl's whereabouts.