BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Nearly two months after 15-year-old Ja’Derrius Minnieweather was last seen, Baton Rouge police said in a release on Tuesday that the landfill search for his remains has entered its third week — with more than 1,000 tons of material processed and no end date in sight.
Investigators said strong evidence points to a Baton Rouge landfill as the location of Minnieweather’s remains. Police believe his body was collected during a routine garbage pickup and transported to the site.
Investigators said they have video from the back of a garbage truck showing the teen’s body being dumped at the landfill.
Search progress
As of July 27, police say search teams have covered 2,679 square yards of the landfill and processed 1,054.1 tons of material. Daily productivity has increased from 90 tons to 150 tons over the course of the three-week operation.
Police say the operation requires around 70 to 80 people each day, including search teams, logistics, medical support, equipment operators, command staff, and support personnel. The department said the search has been conducted with the support of numerous local, state, and federal partners.
Safety protocols
Due to hazardous conditions within the landfill and being considered a dangerous site, searchers are limited to 30 to 45 minutes of active searching before undergoing a rehabilitation period of more than one hour…