HOUSTON -- Angry complaints about a decision not to search for the remains of a Texas A&M University student whose ex-boyfriend confessed to killing her prompted authorities to approve emergency money Friday to look for her body parts in area landfills.

Investigators said Timothy Wayne Shepherd confessed Wednesday to strangling 19-year-old Tynesha Stewart, who disappeared last week.

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Slideshow: View Images Of Missing Student Case

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Shepherd apparently was angry that Stewart had begun seeing someone else.

Officials first thought that Shepherd had disposed of the body in a large commercial trash bin that had since been emptied, but they now believe Stewart's body was dismembered, placed in various containers, and scattered in several trash bins, making recovery even more difficult.

Lt. John Martin, a veteran spokesman for the Harris County Sheriff's Department, struggled to discuss the case Friday.

"That's the belief now, that she was most likely dismembered and that her, um ..." Martin said before pausing. "This is extremely difficult. We're trying very hard to talk about this in a manner that conveys some dignity and some measure of respect, and this is something that just is utterly without dignity and without respect."

Sheriff's officials had decided against searching a landfill for any of Stewart's remains, triggering anger from Stewart's family and friends.

After several high-profile complaints from U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, state Rep. Sylvester Turner and community activist Quanell X, among others, department officials reconsidered.

By Friday afternoon, Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas made a personal plea to Commissioners Court, which unanimously approved spending as much as $500,000 in the effort to recover Stewart's remains.

The search will be paid for with seized drug money.

Investigators are considering excavating and searching as much as 40,000 tons of trash as much as 20 feet deep at local landfills in hopes of finding Stewart's remains.

Speaking of Stewart's family, Thomas said, "They are aware of the odds we are up against."

Martin said the department had met several times with officials at Waste Management Inc. about how they might find Stewart's body.

They then quarantined a half-acre section of a massive landfill in the Houston suburb of Atascocita but estimated there was only about a 65 percent chance that Stewart's body was there. With the news that Stewart's body may have been dismembered and dispersed, those odds dropped much further.

"Now we're faced with the possibility that she may have actually gone to different facilities," Martin said.

Martin said Waste Management personnel told the department they will need time to clear a search area and a path for the manpower and equipment needed to sort through tons of household and commercial waste.

The search is scheduled to begin on Wednesday morning with help from Texas EquuSearch and the Harris County Sheriff's Department.

"We got a game plan together on the equipment we're going to be bringing in, the safety issues, the shots that we need to get," said Tim Miller with Texas EquuSearch. "It looks like we're going to be doing two landfills at one time. We've got a real chore ahead of us. We don't have any guarantees except that we're going to do the best that we can."

Special searchers would have to receive a series of tetanus and hepatitis A shots before setting foot on the landfill.

"We're going to be scooping stuff out with a backhoe, putting it in a big dump truck, taking it to another area, dump it very, very slowly and have another small backhoe sifting it through it," Miller said. "And then we have to cover it back up and put it in a different spot, so it could be a long project."

Suspect Appears In Court

Shepherd made his first court appearance Friday morning.

He entered court in a yellow county jail uniform to signify that he remains on suicide watch. Officials said the suspect tried to commit suicide with his belt while he was left alone in a Harris County interview room on Wednesday night.

"Right now, Mr. Shepherd is in a good place. His family wants him watched closely. They're (in) a state of shock they believe is shared by him, and as such, we're not in a position at this point in time to ask for him to be released," defense attorney Chip Lewis said.

However, Lewis said he would ask the judge to reconsider the bond amount, which stands at $250,000. He said a typical bond for a murder charge is $30,000.

Prosecutors said they do not believe the bond is inappropriate considering the details of the case.

They said they are confident they can build a solid case and find justice for Stewart's heartbroken family.

"Cases have been tried without bodies in the past and can be tried without bodies," prosecutor Marie Primm said.

Shepherd's next court hearing is scheduled for Monday morning, when his bond amount will be reviewed.

Candlelight Vigil Held

Meanwhile, hundreds of family and friends gathered Thursday night for a candlelight vigil and church service to honor Stewart. Many said they were shocked at the county's initial decision not to recover the remains.

"They just want to leave her out there -- in trash, because of a dollar amount. I just can't understand that," said Gale Shields, Stewart's mother.

"Finding Tynesha is the right thing to do and money has nothing to do with it," said Quanell X with the New Black Panther Nation.

Family members were adamant about bringing Stewart home.

"Even if I have to do it alone -- a shovel, I don't care, a spoon -- whatever it takes to get out there and get her. I just want to get her. I don't care who's responsible," said Jason Glenn, Stewart's uncle.

Glenn plays for the Minnesota Vikings. He offered to help pay for the search.

Stewart was home for spring break when she disappeared on March 15. She was last seen at the Red Oak apartments, located at 17710 Red Oak Drive.

When Stewart did not arrive at class on Monday, her family filed an official missing person report.

The former Nimitz High School honor student was a freshman studying civil and chemical engineering at Texas A&M.

A candlelight vigil and memorial service will be held at the All Faiths Chapel on the campus Friday night.