A new search linked to the 1985 disappearance of 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan is now underway in Armstrong County following a new tip.
Crews were excavating a small plot near a home in South Buffalo on Tuesday.
Private investigator Steve Ridge, who is offering a $100,000 reward in the case, says he wasn’t directly involved but thinks the dig may be connected to tips he's received that “have suggested that both on that side and on the other side of the Allegheny River in the same general location are spots that should be checked.”
Ridge thinks authorities are closer to solving the case.
“After 40-some years, there have just been some substantial breakthroughs that have occurred,” said Ridge.
Ridge says he believes authorities have zeroed in on what happened to Cherrie and tells KDKA Radio he's optimistic justice will eventually be served.
KDKA-TV reports that it's unknown if any clues or evidence was found during the dig.
This past summer, a drone was used by officials to examine that same area by air.
Mahan disappeared on February 22, 1985 after betting off a school bus that was about 50 feet from her driveway in Winfield Township, Butler County.
Cherrie was declared legally dead in 1998.