Cadaver dogs and excavators are brought in to search for missing mom-of-three, 27, who disappeared after a family reunion seven years ago as tip-off leads cops to Indiana property of person she was 'involved with'
More than seven years after a mother-of-three from Indiana vanished without a trace, sheriff's deputies and FBI agents on Wednesday arrived at a rural property with digging equipment and cadaver dogs to search for clues.
Ashley Morris Mullis, 27, was last seen on September 19, 2013. No one has heard from her since.
On Wednesday, deputies with the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, Indiana State Police officers and FBI agents executed a search warrant at a home on South County Road 725 West in Yorktown after receiving a fresh tip concerning Mullis' disappearance.
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Ashley Morris Mullis, 27, went missing on September 19, 2013 in Indiana. The mother-of-three has not been seen or heard from since
On Wednesday, sheriff's deputies, Indiana State Police and the FBI executed a search warrant at a home on South County Road 725 West in Yorktown
Officials used excavators to dig on the property and deployed cadaver dogs. Pictured: sheriff's officials are seen talking to Mullis' father (dressed in white T-shirt)
Officers deployed excavators to dig around the property and cadaver dogs trained to detect the scent of human decomposition as part of a multi-day search.
Delaware County Sheriff Tony Skinner revealed that there was a connection between Mullis and the home in Yorktown.
'Seven years ago, Ashley was involved with somebody was related to this property,' he told Fox 59. 'Yesterday, we had some cadaver dogs out here at this property. And they became interested on a couple of areas. So right now, we are just focusing on those areas.'
Delaware County Sheriff Tony Skinner revealed that the home in Yorktown belonged to a man who had been involved with Mullis
The unnamed man in question sold the property in 2014, after being investigated in connection to Mullis' disappearance, and has since died, reported Muncie Star Press.
The sheriff added that over the past two years, his agency has followed up on tips and searched at least six properties, but nothing was found.
Don Morris, Ashley's father, was on the scene to follow the search efforts.
'It’s heartbreaking at this point,' he said. 'I’d like to had answers a lot sooner. But at this point answers would be great even seven years later.'
Police and federal agents spent hours combing through the property in Yorktown on Wednesday and Thursday, and the search resumed on Friday morning.
Mullis' last confirmed sighting was in Royerton, Indiana on September 19, 2013.
According to a website set up by her family dedicated to her missing person case, Mullis was legally separated from her husband and the father of her two young sons. At the time of her disappearance, the 27-year-old woman was said to be dating a 62-year-old married man.
The extramarital affair led to a pregnancy, and in March 2013 Mullis and her older boyfriend welcomed a baby daughter.
Don Morris, Ashley's father , was at the scene of the multi-day search on Thursday. He said he has been looking for answers for more than seven years
On September 17, Mullis attended a family reunion. The following day she was sighted with her boyfriend at a business in York.
On September 19, a friend allegedly spotted Mullis getting a manicure at a nail salon, but that sighting was never confirmed. Her phone went dormant on that day.
It was not until October 10 that Mullis was reported missing. The delay was blamed on a miscommunication between her boyfriend's family and her own.
After the woman's disappearance, her estranged husband took custody of his two sons, while Mullis' boyfriend and his wife took her infant daughter and moved to Florida.
Mullis' boyfriend passed away in 2015 after an illness, and his widow legally adopted her husband's love child, according to the missing woman's family.