By Dalina Castellanos, Los Angeles Times –
Authorities began sifting through dirt in a New York City basement Saturday as part of an ongoing search for the remains of Etan Patz, the 6-year-old boy who vanished in 1979.
The basement’s concrete floor was removed Saturday morning and the area was broken into quadrants, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said in a telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times.
Authorities dug 11/2 feet to 2 feet into portions of the dirt floor, Browne said. He did not comment on what, if anything, was found.
Etan disappeared May 25, 1979, after leaving home to walk to a school bus stop.
The search for the boy was renewed Thursday after an FBI dog indicated the scent of human remains in the room, on a stretch of Prince Street in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood.
The building is on the block where Etan lived and where his parents still live.
FBI agents have spoken to a man who apparently knew the boy, and who once worked in the basement. Othniel Miller, 75, was questioned, though he was not identified as a suspect.
The search will continue through the weekend, Browne said.
