Tale of missing intern fixates capital.(Chicago Tribune)

WASHINGTON_The Monica Lewinsky scandal that is part of President Bill Clinton's legacy was a story with the irresistible combination of a young intern, a powerful married politician and the kind of sexual intrigue associated with royal courts.

That controversy may help explain why a new tale has fixated the capital, dominating local television and cable newscasts and including the elements of an intern, a married politician and at least the strong suggestion of a more than merely friendly relationship.

What sharpens the interest is that the intern has vanished and her disappearance has become a top police priority. Moreover, two lawyers involved in the Lewinsky imbroglio have surfaced as players in this drama.

Chandra Levy, 24, a University of Southern California graduate student, vanished April 30 as she was preparing to return home to Modesto, Calif., after a six-month stint in Washington as an intern with the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Levy was last seen that evening at a Washington sports club where she had gone to close out her membership. Her mother received an e-mail from her the following morning, but no one has heard from her since.

At the center of the case is Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., Levy's hometown congressman, who described Levy as "a good friend." Condit has been questioned twice by police about aspects of the mystery, though he is not accused of any crime.

"It's an active, critical missing persons case," said District of Columbia Police Department spokesman Tony O'Leary, explaining that, to qualify as such, the case must involve possible danger to the life or health of the missing person or possible foul play.