34 years later, police dig up a backyard for clues in a missing person case

Miami-Dade police dug into a homeowner’s backyard Tuesday afternoon in search of new evidence in a decades-old missing person case.

Detectives began digging into the backyard of the home, located in the 19000 block of Northwest 54th Place, Tuesday looking for new clues in a 1982 missing person case, said Miami-Dade police spokesperson Robin Pinkard, but have yet to find anything.

“Our detectives work diligently to bring closure to the families,” said Pinkard, who called the backyard a “place of interest” for detectives. “It’s important to let these families know that our detectives have not stopped working on these cases.”

Detectives obtained a search warrant in the 34-year-old case after discovering new leads. Pinkard said police did not want to release any information about the identity of the missing person due to the ongoing investigation.

It is unclear if the current residents were living in the home during 1982, or if they’re involved in the missing person case, Pinkard said.

The search was an ordeal for one of the residents, who was home during the search, a neighbor said Tuesday. The rest of the family is on vacation.

“There were just cop cars all over this place, digging up the guy’s backyard,” said the neighbor, who declined to give his name. “It’s pretty crazy what’s going on.”

“No one’s saying a whole lot of anything.”

Miami-Dade homicide, the state attorney’s office and Miami-Dade Public Works were all involved in the search Tuesday as bulldozers dug into the concrete behind the home. Excavation will resume Wednesday morning.

This story was originally published July 26, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "34 years later, police dig up a backyard for clues in a missing person case."