The search for a missing Saskatchewan girl has reached a distressing milestone. It has now been six months since Tamra Keepness vanished without a trace from her Regina home.

Despite a massive search in and around the city, Tamra, who was five when her family last saw her go to bed on July 5, has not been seen since.

Police say they've received more than 1,500 tips and have interviewed more than 600 people.

But Regina Police spokesperson Elizabeth Popowich
says, although the number of detectives working the case has been whittled from 12 to four, they are still searching for the one piece of information that can break the case.

"Even though the activity on the case isn't very visible, it is intense activity,'' Popowich told The Canadian Press.

"This case doesn't close until we find Tamra Keepness.''

In the months since her disappearance, police have said they still want to know what, exactly, was going on at her house that July night.

Tamra's mother Lorena and her partner Dean McArthur have admitted they were home, drinking, but maintain that rumours they were somehow involved are unfounded.

"You just learn to adjust to it and adapt to what is going on. You realize that some people just want to talk. They have nothing better to do,'' Keepness told CP in an interview Tuesday, explaining they have nevertheless affected the couple's livelihood.

"I think we have actually missed out on a few jobs because of the rumours flying around,'' she said. "There is not much else we can do but hold up and support each other.''

In the course of their investigation, police have said they have questions about the "comings and goings" from the Keepness home the night Tamra disappeared. And, according to search warrants obtained by the media, they have considered the possibility she was abducted.

Just days after Tamra went missing, police used the first of several warrants to search her home. According to the warrants, blood was found on the porch, floor and bicycles in the front porch, but there were no signs of an abduction.

The blood reportedly belonged to Russell Sheepskin, who had been in a fight with Tamra's stepfather about four hours after she was last seen.

McArthur was later charged with assault.

Tamra's biological father Troy Keepness was also arrested after he allegedly arrived at the family home to "get answers" and ended up in a fight with McArthur.

Tamra's five siblings have been removed from the home by social workers, but Lorena says she's keeping hope alive.

"I continue to pray,'' she said. "It's hard. I just miss her a lot. This was the first Christmas without her.''

With files from The Canadian Press