BATON ROUGE - The frantic search for a missing LSU student intensified Friday.

A team of 300 volunteers scoured an area along the Mississippi River in an effort to find 19-year-old Kori Gauthier.  Her father, Levar Gauthier, says he's leaning on his faith and clinging to hope.

"I hope and pray that she's just somewhere injured and that it's just taking us a while to get to her, so she can live her dream and graduate from LSU," Levar said.

Helicopters circled the area for any sign of Kori, as dive teams searched along the water.
The Cajun Navy, LSU Police, Baton Rouge Police, and East Baton Rouge Sherriff's office all assisted the family in the search.

"You have people of all races coming together for a common cause, and that's how it should be," Levar said.

Kori Gauthier vanished around 1 a.m. Wednesday. Officials said Friday that her car was left abandoned on the Mississippi River bridge for at least an hour before it was hit by another vehicle. 

When family members couldn't reach her, they pinged her cell phone and located it in her car at the salvage yard where it had been towed.

"Her keys, phone, wallet and purse were found in the car. We just can't find her. My mind starts to worry if she was kidnapped from the scene of the accident," said her uncle, Spencer Gauthier.

Spencer traveled in from Houston to help. He says Kori and her boyfriend got into an argument shortly before she went missing.

"There was an argument earlier in the day, but I'm not sure of the time frame between the argument and the accident," Spencer said.

Family and friends are desperate for answers, and they're offering a $10,000 reward for information in the case.