Police, FBI conclude search of vacant house
Aurora police and FBI agents on Thursday wrapped up their search of a home where they hoped to find more clues about the disappearance of 16- year- old Lashaya Stine, and said they will start processing evidence they found.
However, police did not reveal what sort of evidence was discovered at the home at 2200 Lansing St. in Aurora, where they searched for three days. On Thursday, Aurora Fire and Rescue used jackhammers, concrete saws and other heavy equipment to assist in the search for evidence, said Matthew Longshore, an Aurora Police Department spokesman.
Investigators found evidence in the home that led them to focus on a specific area, Longshore said, without revealing where exactly investigators were spending their time.
On Thursday afternoon, a white tent was set up in the backyard, and large chunks of concrete were spread across blue tarps. Crime scene investigators brought out shovels of various sizes and large screens that could be used to sift dirt.
About 3: 30 p. m., an unmarked car backed into the house’s garage, and police closed the garage doors to conceal what was happening inside. About a minute later, the car pulled away.
The search concluded after three days of police detectives and FBI agents, along with search dogs, going in and out of the house.
Lashaya disappeared July 15, 2016, and was last seen alive when public surveillance cameras filmed her crossing the street at 2: 30 a. m. near Montview Boulevard and Peoria Street. The home searched this week is 13 blocks away.
On Wednesday, Lashaya’s family released a statement saying,
“Our family remains hopeful that we will find Lashaya and bring her home.” The family thanked police and pleaded that anyone with new information call investigators. A $ 15,000 reward is being offered to anyone who provides a tip that might solve the case.
Lashaya was a student at George Washington High School and was supposed to go to a job interview at a sandwich shop the day she was reported missing. The family has searched across Colorado and as far away as Kansas for the girl, who would be 20 now.