BOLLINGER COUNTY, Mo. — The search of a rural Bollinger County property this week is connected to the case of a girl who went missing in 1989, the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) confirmed to 5 On Your Side.
"This multi-day search was conducted pursuant to a Bollinger County search warrant and was part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Gina Dawn Brooks," MSHP said in an emailed statement. "Throughout the course of the search, items of possible evidentiary value were collected and will be forwarded to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory for analysis."
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No human remains have been found, the patrol said.
The update comes days after the FBI, MSHP, and Bollinger County deputies began conducting the massive search in a dense wooded area about two hours south of St. Louis. They did not originally specify why the search was being conducted.
The property's owner for the last 15 years spoke to 5 On Your Side Wednesday evening, saying he was never served a search warrant and would only allow them on the property if he was present. He also said an FBI agent called him three weeks ago and told him the bureau would be looking for remains because someone in prison might have admitted information about the site.
The recent developments have given the people of Fredericktown a glimpse of hope that closure is around the corner.
"Yeah, the town needs it. You know, you got a small small town that everybody still waves, they say hi to you. It's a small town and people need to get closure. We really do," Jamie Jaycox said.
Angie Davidson said she was 20 years old when Brooks disappeared and never forgot about her.
"This is just an easygoing town, everybody was out and about in the summer, and you started looking over your shoulder or looking at your surroundings when you would go places," Davidson said.
Gina Dawn Brooks disappeared in August 1989 while riding her bike late at night in Fredericktown, about 15 miles away from the search site. She was 13 years old.
After coming from her brother's baseball game, Brooks said she was going for a ride on her bike.
Witnesses said Brooks was seen standing near her church when a light gray, green or blue station wagon with Missouri license plates pulled up and the driver spoke to her. She got back on her bike.
But Brooks never went back home and her bike was found abandoned on High Street just blocks away.
Three men were implicated in her disappearance, but no one was convicted due to lack of evidence.
Michael Jeter always followed this case because of his father.
His family lived not too far where the current search site is, which is not too far from Fredericktown.
Jeter was nine year's old when his parents saw a green station wagon come up by their house. He said his mom, who had a sharp memory, saw three people in the station wagon and two mean looking dogs.
A couple of days later, the disappearance of Gina Dawn Brooks was on the news and they profiled the same car.
"It kind of hit my mom and dad and they said whoa, that was the vehicle. That's kind of what, my dad had gotten out of law enforcement for quite a few years, and that's actually why he got back in it," Jeter explained.
After watching the news, his dad called the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and gave a statement.
From there, his dad re-joined the force and was with the Madison County Sheriff's Office.
Over the years, searches even led teams to a quarry. Jeter said his dad was the lead diver.
State Representative Tricia Byrnes also feels for the family.
"My first thoughts were, how that family must feel," she added.
This year, she filed legislation for missing persons cases through HB 1716.
This month, Governor Mike Parson included a portion of the budget to help identify unidentified remains because Byrnes pushed for this.
Now, Byrnes wants to solve cases by having Missouri use the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) to identify missing persons.
"I want to work on the NamUs portion to make the database a requirement among law enforcement in Missouri," Byrnes shared.
While this case remains unresolved, many hold on to hope.
"I just hope one day they can find her remains," Jeter said.
Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact the Division of Drug and Crime Control/Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E Headquarters at (573) 840-9500, the FBI tip line at 1-800-Call-FBI or submit information through this link.