Etan Patz - 1979

[sadie]

NEW YORK -- The FBI and NYPD dug into the concrete floor of a SoHo basement Friday to search for the remains of Etan Patz, a 6-year-old boy who went missing 33 years ago on his short walk to the school bus stop.

NBC New York was first to report the break in the cold case on Thursday.

Investigators have also questioned a second person in connection with the re-examination of evidence. NBC New York has learned that on the morning Patz disappeared in 1979, that man was observed at the building where police are searching now, and also worked with a handyman who authorities are eyeing in the case.

Officials are searching the basement of a building on Prince Street that is connected to the handyman they say had contact with Patz just before he went missing on May 25, 1979, according to a law enforcement official.

The FBI plans to dig up the entire concrete floor and remove drywall partitions to find blood, clothing or human remains in the building, but law enforcement sources have said investigators will pay specific attention to areas of the basement where a cadaver dog recently picked up scents for human remains.

Read original story, see photos and video on NBCNewYork.com
Dumpsters were brought onto the scene Friday to hold the broken-up concrete. Investigators formed a line from the basement outside to the containers, passing chunks of concrete from one person to the next. By the end of the day, one was filled with debris.

When the floor is removed, the dirt underneath will be sifted for human remains.

The 13-by-62 basement is located at 127B Prince Street, about 200 feet from the building where Patz lived.

Law enforcement sources say investigators have talked to the handyman, Othneil Miller, and that he made statements that raised their suspicions.

In a recent interview with investigators, he blurted out “What if the body was moved?” according to an official.

Sources also say they have evidence to suggest Patz had been in the basement before.

Miller's grandson, Tony Miller, said Friday outside the home that Othneil Miller is a "good guy" who "wouldn't do this." His lawyer, Michael Farkas, said he denies any role in what happened to the boy.

usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/20/11311793-etan-patz-case-police-dig-in-basement-question-second-man-in-search-for-boy-who-disappeared-in-1979?lite

[sadie]

The 33 year old case was reopened after cadaver dogs detected the scent of human remains at the site.

Seventy-five-year-old Othniel Miller used the space as a workshop back then. A neighborhood handyman, Miller knew Etan and his family. He denies any involvement with the child's disappearance.

"After this case," pointed out NYPD spokesperson Paul Browne, "there became a much more protective environment around children, generally."

This was the case that, years ago, made parents reassess places they once judged safe -- like their very own streets and neighborhoods, Miller notes.

The case was, says Cohen, the first "in a long, long time that just captured the imagination of, first this city, and then the rest of the country, and ultimately the world."

Cohen, author of "After Etan: the Missing Child Case that Held America Captive" and a former producer for CBS News and ABC News, said, "I think there was a time before Etan when kids played in the street and you walked to the bus stop by yourself, those two blocks, and then there was an after-Etan. After that, people knew that it could happen. And once you know that it can happen, then you think maybe it will happen. It changed everything.

"I think that, out of this case, and then a few very few high-profile cases that followed, a whole movement began. And there were congressional hearings, there were all kinds of initiatives for tracking children in a better way, and ultimately, things like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were created. So now, there's a new awareness.

"And there's some divisiveness about this. On the one hand people say, 'We know the risks now.' On the other hand, people say, 'We've taken away the freedom of our children. And people shouldn't be so nervous and worried and isolating."

The Patz family, Cohen says, is "very reserved. They've been through this for 33 years. They have seen so many cases, so many moments where the hopes were up, they've got the guy, you know, they've got the break in the case. And then it doesn't happen. So, you know, I think that -- I speak to Stan Patz, and I know he's grateful the New York district attorney has been willing to make this kind of commitment and put resources into this, but he's gonna wait and see."


www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57418353/nypd-close-to-finding-etan-patz-remains/

[sadie]

How do you survive not knowing where your baby is for 33 years? It must be like surviving without your heart beating.............

[beth]

"And there's some divisiveness about this. On the one hand people say, 'We know the risks now.' On the other hand, people say, 'We've taken away the freedom of our children. And people shouldn't be so nervous and worried and isolating."


We can't have it both ways so it's up to parents to balance one against the other and find some kind of comfort zone. From the time my friends and I were 8 or 9 (in the 60s) we were allowed to roam all over the 12 blocks or so of our small town's business section, plus a few select neighborhoods, the park and playground area and swimming pool. There were a number of shady characters we were told not to talk to or "go off with". All of us and the generations that came after, survived. There have been a few murders in that town over the years but no children involved and no kidnappings. I have no doubt the same is true of most small towns.

So, what's best? We want to keep our children safe but not sequester them. As far as I can see, there's no perfect plan .. a lot is up to chance.

[sadie]

(CBS) NEW YORK - Authorities say the niece of Othniel Miller, who is a suspect in the Etan Patz disappearance, has confirmed reports that Miller raped her when she was a child.

Pictures: Etan Patz

The New York Daily News reports that according to law enforcement sources, Miller's ex-wife, Phyllis, told the FBI last year that she left Miller when she learned that he had raped his niece.

The sources say the FBI had searched in vain for the niece, and found her early this week. She then confirmed the ex-wife's allegations.

The rape accusation was part of a search warrant for Miller's former basement workshop. The search that began Thursday ended Monday reportedly with "no obvious human remains" found.

"It's not over till it's over," Patz's father, Stan, said after the search ended.

Miller was a handyman who had a workshop down the street from 6-year-old Etan's lower Manhattan apartment building back in 1979. He allegedly gave the boy $1 for help with chores the night before he disappeared, May 25, while walking to the school bus.

The Daily News reports that on Sunday, the handyman's stepson Jason Webley insisted Miller's ex "made that up" regarding the rape allegation, and that he would never hurt a child.
"You can't swear for anyone, but I don't think he's in any way, form, or fashion involved in this," Webley said.

www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57419986-504083/police-in-etan-patz-case-confirm-rape-claim-against-suspect-report/