Search resumes for Jessica Cain's body in SE Houston
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Search crews continue to hunt in a privately owned field near Hobby Airport in southeast Houston for the body of Jessica Cain.
About a dozen investigators were at the East Orem site Saturday, equipped with tents, an RV, back hoes and heavy machinery.
Lonnie Nehls works as a contractor next to the site. He noticed crews were having trouble digging deeper with the equipment they had, so he loaned them an excavator that can dig more than 12 feet.
Nehls says if someone buried a body that deep, that person would have needed heavy equipment.
"It wasn't done with a shovel," Nehls said. "No, it was done with something. They're down several feet, six or seven feet, if not even eight at this point. They're down deep."
Eyewitness News was the first on the scene of this mysterious scene earlier this week, and captured exclusive video of the man at the center of the investigation.
William Reece, 56, is connected to several disappearances right here in the Houston area.
Workers are focusing on at least four areas mapped out with yellow markers. Those are the areas in which they have been digging with heavy machinery.
Earlier this week, Reece was seen helping assist in that search.
VIDEO: Story from 1998 on William Reece being suspected in the death of Laura Smither
He is accused in the disappearance of Jessica Cain. The 17-year-old was kidnapped in 1997.
He is also the suspect in the disappearance of several other girls. For the past 18 years, he has been in prison for the kidnapping of Sandra Sapaugh in 1997. She was able to escape.
The investigator who put Reece behind bars, Sue Dietrich, says she believes Reece may be involved in more cases.
Sources tell us that Reece's incentive to help in their search is the hope he will be able to stay in Texas by cooperating with investigators.
Cain's parents are still holding out hope their daughter is still alive.
