An investigation into work by Wired News freelancer Michelle Delio has found 40 sources who can't be located. But the writer is saying there is no fabrication involved.

An excerpt from the AP story carried by the NYT:

The review determined that dozens of people cited in articles by Delio, primarily during the past 18 months, could not be located. Nearly all the people who were cited as sources and who could not be located had common names and occupations and were reported to be living in large metropolitan regions.

Almost none of the information attributed to the disputed sources was considered significant. The disputed quotations typically supported details elsewhere in the articles.

Delio said Monday the investigation ''concluded that my stories did not contain fabricated news, that key information in all the stories checked out and that all primary sources were located.'' She said she regretted not keeping contact information for all her sources.

In a private e-mail Delio sent to Wired News executives last month and obtained by The Associated Press, she said she wanted to ''present my side of this sad saga.''

''I don't understand why my credibility and career is now hanging solely on finding minor sources that contributed color quotes to stories I filed months and years ago,'' she wrote. Delio said that among hundreds of articles she wrote for the organization, there ''isn't one story that contains fabricated news.''