Investigators spent a third straight day on Thursday excavating property in a West Chester Township neighborhood, as a court-ordered search that authorities have said little about continued on Gregory Creek Lane, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Fairfield Township police, who are leading the investigation, scheduled a press briefing for 12:30 p.m. Thursday, October 29, at the scene, 6884 Gregory Creek Lane, to discuss the status of the search, the Enquirer reported.
The search began Tuesday, October 27, and continued Thursday, when investigators were seen using bulldozers to excavate and move ground in two yards, Fox19 reported in coverage cited by the Enquirer. Fairfield Township police are being assisted by West Chester police and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, according to the Enquirer.
Authorities have so far declined to say what, or who, they may be looking for, the Enquirer reported. The search is being carried out under a court-ordered warrant, and investigators were still executing that warrant on Thursday morning, according to the Enquirer.
Fairfield Township Police Sgt. John Vanderyt said Thursday morning that authorities must keep details of the investigation confidential, in words quoted by Fox19 and reported by the Enquirer, "to protect all parties involved." Vanderyt told Fox19, as reported by the Enquirer, "We don’t want anything happening to other people if information gets out," and he declined to elaborate.
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser has also declined to comment on the investigation, the Enquirer reported. The silence from prosecutors and police is common while a warrant is still being executed, because releasing details early can compromise a search and the safety of people connected to it.
For residents of the Gregory Creek Lane area, the operation has meant three days of heavy equipment, investigators and roadside attention in an otherwise quiet neighborhood. Police have not announced any arrests or findings from the excavation, and no agency has said how long the work at the site will continue.
What happens next turns on Thursday’s briefing. Fairfield Township police are expected to provide the first substantive update since the search began, and NewsForce247 will report what officials confirm — and will not speculate about what the search is seeking before investigators say so on the record.
Photo: Raymond Wambsgans, CC BY