SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Members of the Shreveport FBI are joining Baton Rouge police in a large-scale search at the East Baton Rouge Parish North Landfill in Zachary for 15-year-old Ja’Derrius Minnieweather.
Specialized FBI teams from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia are assisting.
Experts have narrowed the search area to about 0.64 acres containing roughly 8,260 cubic yards of material. The operation includes:
- Technical Hazards Response Unit (THRU): Provides safety, hazmat, medical, and logistical support in the hazardous landfill environment.
- Evidence Response Team Unit (ERTU): Uses specialized techniques to locate, collect, and preserve evidence.
- Team Adam from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: Helped identify and narrow the search area.
FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp said the bureau is deploying every available resource to improve the chances of a successful search and ultimately bring Minnieweather home to his family.
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The search is being led by the Baton Rouge Police Department, which remains the primary investigative agency, while numerous local, state, and federal partners, including Louisiana State Police, the Louisiana National Guard, Homeland Security Investigations, and several FBI field offices, are assisting. FBI personnel from New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Alexandria, Shreveport, and Monroe will be assisting.
The search is expected to be complex, dangerous, and could last multiple weeks…