No visible signs of Hoffa’s remains found

ROSEVILLE, Mich. — Authorities drilled through concrete and removed two samples of wet soil and clay in a modest Detroit-area neighbourhood Friday in the latest effort to find the remains of Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa, who disappeared in 1975.

There was no visible sign of human remains, but test results could be ready by Monday, Roseville Police Chief James Berlin said.

“We’re not sure if anything is down there. That’s what this is all about,” Berlin said.

They drilled the concrete floor of a shed adjacent to a driveway where a recent radar test revealed a shift in the soil. The latest investigation was launched after a man told police that he saw a body being buried under the driveway 35 years ago and “thinks it may have been Jimmy.”

Authorities have already said they don’t think the timeline adds up and that it’s unlikely Hoffa’s body is there. He was last seen July 30, 1975, outside a restaurant in Oakland County, about 50 kilometres to the west.

“I don’t believe it’s Mr. Hoffa. I don’t know what it is,” said Berlin, who was contacted last month by the man who said he witnessed a body being buried there.

“We received credible information that a crime may have occurred. We’re not doing anything we wouldn’t have done on any other case.”

The homeowner, Patricia Szpunar, 72, has lived there since 1988. She said her son uses the shed to store two workbenches and his motorcycle. Police detectives appeared two weeks ago and said they may need to search her yard for a body.

“I laughed at them,” Szpunar said Friday. “I looked at them and said, ‘What? Do you think Jimmy Hoffa is buried in my backyard?’ ... They just looked at me, and asked why I said Jimmy Hoffa.”