Police in Idaho have been swamped with a flurry of tips as they search for a white car seen near the house where four students were found murdered.

No arrests have been made or suspects identified in the stabbings.

Police have said the Hyundai Elantra was seen near the home the day of the murders and its occupants may have “critical information to share regarding this case”.

The FBI is now helping local police process the thousands of incoming tips.

The four victims – Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen – were all students at the University of Idaho in the town of Moscow, Idaho, which is about 80 miles (130km) south of Spokane, Washington.

They were found stabbed to death in their beds on Sunday 13 November in an off-campus rental home they shared with some housemates in the college town.

Earlier this week, Moscow Police announced they were searching for a white 2011 to 2013 Hyundai Elantra “with an unknown licence plate” that had been observed “in the immediate area” of the crime scene during the timeframe of the murders.

In the latest operational update on Thursday from Moscow police, they said they believed that the one or more occupants of the car might have “valuable information” in the case.

• Idaho murders: Rumours, ‘clues’ and web detectives

After being inundated with tips about the vehicle, Moscow police began redirecting calls to an FBI call centre, which the department said “has the resources to take those calls, categorise them and send them on to investigators so they can utilise those tips in the investigation”.

Additionally, Fox News reported that US Customs and Border Protection had been tasked with searching for the car at crossing points on the US-Canada border.

To date, detectives working on the investigation have received over 2,770 calls with tips, as well as nearly 2,700 emails and more than 1,000 “digital media” submissions.

The slow pace of the investigation has prompted criticism from some family members of the victims, who have complained about the police response and a perceived lack of transparency.

Police have said that “only vetted information that does not hinder the investigation” will be released to the public.

The case has also attracted the interest of tens of thousands of amateur web detectives, and dozens of Facebook groups and Reddit threads have been created dedicated to sharing the latest updates and videos and pictures about the case.