As she drives the streets of Elk Grove, on the way to the grocery store or the bank, Suzie Warren's sport-utility vehicle flashes a message to passersby in loud, orange paint scrawled on the back window: "FreeTheHikers.org."

More than 7,000 miles from Iran, where Sarah Shourd, 31, Shane Bauer, 27, and Josh Fattal, 27, have been detained by Iranian authorities for nearly two months, Warren is among the volunteers who have enlisted to help keep the hikers' fate in the public's mind.

Warren, whose daughter went to high school and junior college with Shourd, publicizes the captives' Web site. She tied a yellow ribbon on a tree in her front yard, much like families of missing or injured U.S. soldiers. She's had her whole family send letters to legislators, "anything to spread the word," she said.

Bauer, Shourd and Fattal were arrested by Iranian authorities July 31 after they allegedly crossed into the country while hiking through mountains in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region.

The Iranian government has confirmed that the hikers were arrested on charges that include illegal entry. State Department officials said Friday the hikers have received no consular access and there was no sign that they would be released soon.

As government channels work behind the scenes, family members are left to develop strategies to promote their children's safe return.

"At first we were pretty confused about how we can do that," said Nora Shourd, Sarah Shourd's mother.

The task was daunting for the families, who have no heavy-hitting political connections or media expertise. Days after the hikers were detained, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, two journalists who had been detained in North Korea for nearly five months, were brought back by former President Bill Clinton.

Ling and her sister, Lisa Ling, grew up in Carmichael, and both became journalists. Lisa Ling, who is a correspondent for CNN, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "National Geographic Explorer," helped her family navigate the national media as they tried to raise awareness about Ling's and Lee's detainment in North Korea.

"We may not have the same kind of people behind us, but we do have a tremendous amount of support," Shourd said.

Public relations firms in New York and San Francisco have volunteered staff time to help the families coordinate media interviews.

Shourd, Bauer and Fattal all attended the University of California, Berkeley, and Shourd's mother said many of their friends are activists who "already know how to mobilize people and activate people."

Families are essential to keeping Americans detained abroad in the media, said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, program coordinator for Middle East and North Africa with the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"Governments bank on the idea that the story can only last so long," he said. "Governments do their best to engineer the circumstances in such a way so the story dies out. That's where families come in."

The families' impassioned letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad solicited a direct response during a television interview with NBC anchor Ann Curry in Tehran on Sept. 20.

"The family of the U.S. citizens who are imprisoned here in Iran – I sympathize with them," Ahmadinejad said through a translator. "They need to know that these individuals have violated the law. However, I'm going to do my best for the Iranians who are in U.S. prisons to be set free and for these U.S. citizens here to be set free as well. I am hoping that this will happen as soon as possible."

Michael O'Reilly, director of Amnesty International's Individuals At Risk program, said Ahmadinejad's comments show he's "sensitive to the negative press surrounding the detention of these individuals."

"Most governments are still vulnerable to negative publicity, even the government of Iran, though Ahmadinejad gives statements all the time that would make you think they would love nothing but bad press," he said.

Sarah Shourd's mother said friends are leading preparations for the two-month anniversary of the hikers' arrest next week. They're planning candlelight vigils in Berkeley, New York and several other cities. Family members appeared on several national news programs before Ahmadinejad's stop in New York for United Nations talks.

In Elk Grove, Suzie Warren's daughter, Sage Warren, who has been friends with Shourd since the two were 15, said she scans news headlines online and a Web site set up for the cause nearly every hour to find new ways she can help.

"There are a lot of people waiting in the wings, available to their families when they need people to rally," Sage Warren said.

Call The Bee's Julie Johnson, (916) 321-5287.