Authorities are conducting a search at a Michigan landfill for clues related to the disappearance of a woman from the Detroit area who has been missing for over a week.

On Monday, several individuals in protective yellow suits were spotted at the landfill located in Lenox Township, Macomb County, as aerial footage captured by local media was shared online. During a press conference, Roseville Police Chief Mitch Berlin confirmed the investigation, stating their objective was to bring some level of closure for the missing woman’s family.

“We had about 40 to 50 officers working on this,” Berlin remarked to the press.

Ashley Elkins, who is 30 years old, was reported missing on January 3. A previous boyfriend of hers has been accused of providing false statements during the investigation, escalating the case’s complexity.

Elkins resided in Warren, yet her vehicle was discovered in Roseville, another community in the Detroit metropolitan area. Chief Berlin mentioned that the search efforts would recommence on Tuesday.

The Pine Tree landfill, where the search is taking place, is a considerable waste disposal site that receives large amounts of refuse from across southeastern Michigan. In a separate case, Detroit police had spent a summer there in 2022 trying to locate the remains of a 17-year-old girl, Zion Foster, who was placed in a dumpster.

That search concluded without any findings; however, a suspect in the case was convicted of second-degree murder and is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence.

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This report has been revised to correct the last name from Watkins to Elkins.