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Etan Patz Search Ends: Investigators say no obvious sign of human remains found in NYC basement
The disappearance of Etan Patz was a turning point in America. New clues and technology may help police discover what happened to that little boy 33 years ago.
The FBI said late Monday morning that they had finished with their work at the site in lower Manhattan. Although chief police spokesman Paul Browne says the case remains a missing-person investigation, investigators found no obvious human remains.
The New York Times reports that an FBI statement said it had "concluded the on-site portion of the search. The street and local businesses will be reopened."
Authorities had originally said that the search has been expected to take five days. The search was authorized by a warrant issued by a State Supreme Court judge.
According to CNN, a field test on a possible bloodstain found in the basement was negative, sources said. That stain, possible strands of hair, and a piece of paper is being sent to an FBI laboratory in Virginia to be analyzed.
Officials on the scene Monday removed a trash bin containing some concrete slabs from the basement. The bin and its contents were taken to a location to be safeguarded, someone familiar with the investigation said.
The search in lower Manhattan began after an FBI dog indicated the scent of human remains in the room. The team of FBI evidence recovery specialists and NYPD detective crime scene investigators have been working in the basement since Thursday.
The basement was used at the time of the boy's disappearance as a workspace for handyman Othniel Miller. The Times reports the neighborhood handyman had given Etan $1 the day before he disappeared for a chore the boy had helped him with. Although Miller has been questioned repeatedly in recent days, he has not been named a suspect.
Complete coverage of the Etan Patz disappearance on Crimesider
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