Congressional Delegation Monitoring Case Of Missing Okla. Valedictorian

Oklahoma's Congressional delegation is stepping up to help in the search of an Oklahoma City teenager missing in Ecuador.

News 9 first reported the disappearance of Classen SAS valedictorian August Reiger on Tuesday. Family members say August vanished during a hike in Ecuador while on a family vacation.

On Friday, August's father told News 9 local authorities have broadened their search to find his son, who went missing Sunday. Family members say they are still full of hope.

Now, Oklahoma's Congressional delegation is keeping close tabs on the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador to ensure every effort is being exhausted to find August. Formal inquiries have been submitted to the State Department from Members of Congress to determine if appropriate measures are being taken to help resolve the issue.

6/19/2013 Related Story: Foreign Authorities Assume Kidnapping Of OKC Valedictorian

"Anything's a possibility, nothing makes sense," August's dad Chris Reiger said.

Chris says search crews are now focused on different areas of the mountain where August was last seen. One of many possibilities, Chris says, is that August could be trapped.

"It's just so thick with vegetation that you could slide [up to] 100 feet down and be caught in [a] canopy," Chris said. "It would be impossible to see you [and] really hard for anybody to find you."

American authorities are limited to only monitor the investigation and search that, as of now, are in the hands of local police.

"The FBI can't and won't get involved unless there's evidence of a crime," Reiger said. "[Local authorities] are not saying it's a kidnapping, but they're not saying it's not."

Earlier, local authorities told the Reiger family they would investigate the disappearance as a kidnapping after unsuccessful search efforts earlier this week. Chris says he plans on staying in Ecuador indefinitely, but his wife and other son may return to Oklahoma in about a week.

6/18/2013 Related Story: OKC Valedictorian Vanishes In South America