Search For Etan Patz Resumes 33 Years After Disappearance

The FBI has resumed its search for Etan Patz.

Patz went missing on May 25th, 1979 when he was 6-years-old. According to MSNBC, the case of Etan Patz was one of most high profile missing child’s cases in New York history. His face was one of the the first to be placed on the side of a milk carton and he is the reason President Ronald Reagan declared May 25th National Missing Child Day.

Now, 33-years after Patz disappeared, the FBI is hoping to put an end to the case.

Officials are planning to tear up the cement basement floor of an apartment building in SoHo with the hope of recovering Patz’ body. GMA reports that a cadaver dog indicated a “hit” in the basement of the building which led to the new probe.

The search at 127 Prince Street is related to a handyman who had befriended Patz shortly before his disappearance. Federal officials say that the night before Patz disappeared he had been in the basement at 127 Prince Street with the handyman.

A cadaver dog got a hit in the basement of the apartment building which could mean that a body has been burried beneath the floor.

The NY Times reports that trained cadaver dogs can find the scent of a dead body decades after the body has been removed.

The main suspect in the case has long been Jose Ramos. Ramos is currently serving 20-years in prison for an unrelated child molestation case. Ramos admitted that he had taken Patz to his apartment on May 25, 1979, but let the boy go after he refused his advances.

The NYPD and FBI said that they will be excavating the building for the next five days with the hopes of finding Etan Patz.