The three former players accused in the Duke University lacrosse prosecution came to the Triangle on Tuesday amid widespread speculation that an announcement in the case could be close.

Attorney General Roy Cooper is deciding whether the state of North Carolina will proceed with sexual assault and kidnapping charges against David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. The three stand accused in the state's most publicized case in decades, and after a year of turmoil they long for an announcement.

For weeks, Cooper's spokeswoman has said that special prosecutors Jim Coman and Mary D. Winstead were close to wrapping up their investigation into an escort service dancer's allegations that thrust Durham and Duke University into the national spotlight.

The office had little to say Tuesday. "We have nothing scheduled at this point," Noelle Talley, the spokeswoman, said late in the day.

For much of this week, though, there has been speculation among the news media and others who follow every twist and turn of the case that the direction prosecutors will take will soon be clear.

"We have gotten at least 57 media calls," Talley said. "We've gotten calls from both people far and near, from people flying in to town and people who are here."

Big television trucks that were reminders of how the case played out on cable talk shows much of last year were parked outside the attorney general's office in Raleigh. Duke administrators issued a news release laying out guidelines for television crews and reporters visiting campus.

Seligmann, 21, of Essex Fells, N.J., was caught by a TV camera at Raleigh-Durham International Airport midafternoon Tuesday. He would not comment to reporters.

And Kevin Finnerty, of Garden City, N.Y., the father of 20-year-old Collin Finnerty, said his family would be in the Triangle today should there be word from the attorney general.

Kevin Finnerty told the Associated Press that this has been "a horrific year."

"The waiting process is wearing us down emotionally," he said. "We take comfort in the fact that these prosecutors are searching for the truth. And that's different from how we felt before their involvement."

Wade Smith, the lead lawyer for Finnerty, said the defense team had been told that they would be notified before Cooper issued any public statements. He had not heard anything Tuesday evening.

"I'm being fed out of the same trough as the other lawyers," Smith said. "I have no such word that any announcement is imminent."

The Finnertys planned to wait in Raleigh. "They would like to be here in case something happens," Smith said.

Evans, 24, of Bethesda, Md., could not be reached for comment.

Since Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong handed over the case to Cooper and his staff in mid-January, the special prosecutors have pored over evidence and interviewed key witnesses.

They have toured the house at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., where the Duke lacrosse team had the March 13, 2006, party at which the accuser said an attack occurred.

As the former Duke lacrosse players continue to battle the charges against them, Nifong is in a fight to save his law license. The N.C. State Bar brought ethical and misconduct charges against him over his handling of the case.