Japanese officials ended their search for Craig Arnold May 4, but an independent search team hired by friends and family of the missing poet reportedly discovered signs of his trail on the small volcanic island of Kuchino-erabu Wednesday.

"They found some evidence that has given them increased confidence that it is definitively Craig whom they are tracking," a post on a Web site maintained by Arnold's friends and family stated Wednesday. "They are working amazingly hard and have made significant progress and we are really grateful and really hopeful."

Arnold arrived on the island, located off the southwestern coast of Japan, on April 27 as part of a research trip for a book he was working on about the world's active volcanos. Japanese officials began searching for Arnold three days after he was reported missing. The Japanese team of police and firemen doubled its search time to six days, beyond the three required by law.

Peter Parolin, dean of the University of Wyoming's English department where Arnold has taught since 2004, said the independent 1st Special Response Group of searchers will continue looking for Arnold through May 9.

"We're staying optimistic," Parolin said. "We know from stories all around the world that these kinds of stories can end happily. There's a lot of hope they'll be able to find Craig."

The island covers an area of nine miles, is covered with dense vegetation, and is populated by 150 people.

Arnold, 41, who maintained a "Volcano Pilgrim" Web site chronicling his travels, made his last post to the site April 26. He graduated from Yale University before enrolling at the University of Utah, where in 2001 he earned a doctorate in creative writing. Arnold received the Yale Younger Poets Award for his 1999 poetry collection, Shells , while living in Salt Lake City, where he was a regular fixture in the literary and music scenes.

Arnold was traveling in Japan through a U.S.-Japanese Friendship Commission's Creative Artists Exchange Fellowship.