No Remains Found In SoHo Basement, Search For Etan Patz Will Continue
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- As rain poured on SoHo FBI Agents and the NYPD packed up their equipment and concluded Sunday's search for the remains of Etan Patz. Patz disappeared on his way to catch a school bus thirty-three years ago.
Sources told CBS 2 that no skeletal or dental remains have been found and that the search will continue on Monday.
FBI spokesman Jim Margolin told CBS 2's Ann Mercogliano that the search is not over yet.
"Fundamentally, it's about going through dirt, sifting, going carefully, and looking for evidence. We'll be done when we're done," he said.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance reopened the search for Patz in 2010, he has remained tight-lipped as investigators tore apart a SoHo basement searching for Patz' remains.
Agents broke through concrete in the basement and have reached dirt. A source close to the investigation told CBS 2 that authorities uncovered a suspicious stain on a concrete wall in the basement.
The stain was discovered using a chemical called Luminol which indicates the presence of blood.
"People that try to clean up crime scenes and leave this invisible blood behind, that's revealed by spraying Luminol. Even thirty years later, it works fine for older blood specimens," explained forensics expert, Dr Lawrence Kobilinsky.
Etan's parents have long believed that convicted pedophile Jose Ramos was responsible for their son's death. Ramos has continued to deny the allegations.
Recently, however, handyman Othniell Miller has been named as a person of interest. Miller, who reportedly used part of the basement as a workplace, has hired a lawyer.
Authorities began to search the workspace used by Miller after a cadaver sniffing dog detected human remains.
Onlookers told CBS 2 that they hope the dig yields answers.
"I feel sorry for the family, that they haven't had closure for all that time," said Paul Greil.
1010 WINS Reporter Sonia Rincon was in SoHo...
Podcast
Authorities told 1010 WINS reporter Sonia Rincon that the excavation is only halfway done and will continue on Monday morning. Investigators expect the dig to be completed by Monday afternoon.
Do you think the remains will be found in SoHo? Add your thoughts in our comments section below...
