Associated Press - May 3, 2009 4:25 PM ET

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - The search for missing University of Wyoming professor and poet Craig Arnold will extend beyond the weekend.

University spokeswoman Jessica Lowell says Japanese authorities have agreed to continue looking for the 41-year-old who's been missing for a nearly a week on a Japanese island.

Arnold went missing Monday on a volcanic island in the northern Ryukyu Islands. Associates say he was visiting the island to research a book on volcanoes.

Lowell says the university doesn't know yet how long the search will continue past Sunday, when it had been scheduled to conclude.

A Facebook page set up by Arnold's supporters says the search has been extended at least until Tuesday.

Wyoming's congressional delegation has been in contact with the U.S. Consulate in Tokyo in an effort to extend the search.

Craig Arnold search Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid74254019683&refmf

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