ERICA MILLER/For The Saratogian

I briefly caused some problems today at the scene of the search for a four-year old girl seen by passing motorists walking into the woods near Henning Road on Friday morning.

After hanging out in the designated press area, a parking lot at the Meyer's Education Center on Henning Road, I decided to "make a phone call"/try to get a better view of the action by crossing a rain-soaked field, and then crossing Henning Road a few hundred yards south of where the girl was last sighted.

I failed in my primary mission, but did succeed in talking to the newsroom for a couple of minutes, meanwhile leaving behind a juicy trail of 10.5-sized footprints in the mud.

About 30 minutes later, a Saratoga Springs Police Officer and an forest ranger were spotted examining something on the ground in the field which I'd earlier transversed.

I'll admit that I didn't make the connection immediately, but when one of the TV cameramen on the scene whispered in my ear that they were examining my footprints, I figured I'd best say something. In the mean time, all of the photographers, still, video, web, whathaveyou, were busy shooting the two officers.

A little while later, they'd followed the tracks back toward the parking lot, and one of the my colleagues mentioned they thought it might be my tracks. I was summoned, and duly displayed the sole of my shoe, as pictured above. The officers seemed reasonably satisfied that I was responsible for the tracks, but had apparently also found a separate track.

So, not only did I succeed in creating some good art for my colleagues, but I also might have pointed law enforcement toward an important breakthrough in the case -- or not. Either way, I'll try to keep my feet on the pavement next time.