Nigerian families organizing search for kidnapped girls

Frustration and despair over the fate of hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamic extremists in northern Nigeria is forcing families to organize the rescue themselves.

"We are trying to search for our daughters on our own," said a mother of one of the girls, asking to remain unidentified out of fear of causing her daughter further harm. "Soon we will be heading to the forest.

"We heard rumors that they are ready to negotiate with us if we ourselves go to the forest," she added. "But they threatened to kill or sell the girls if the government uses force or ambushes them."

Still, it's likely the families will have to travel farther than the vast Sambesa Forest to find their daughters: U.S. State Department officials sa