Police Search Ends In Missing Woman Case
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – As police and crime scene investigators return for a second day to search an Opa-locka field for signs of a woman who vanished three years ago, that woman's best friend is afraid of what they might find.
"I miss her every day, every day. There's not a day that I don't think about her," said Sharon Moses Solano.
Lynda Meier, 40, was last seen in the early morning hours of June 4, 2010. After she left her Hallandale Beach condo, she withdrew money from an ATM. Next, she was captured on a red light camera at the intersection of Federal highway and Hallandale Beach Boulevard going west on Hallandale Boulevard.
Meier's red Cadillac Escalade with chrome wheels was found a week later in a parking lot in Opa Locka – not far from the seven acre field police are searching off NW 18th Avenue and Service Road.
Officers and CSI techs from Miami-Dade, Hallandale Beach and Opa-locka descended on the field Monday after getting a possible new lead in the case.
"It was a tip that came into the city of Hallandale in regards to a possible body, the body of Lynda Meier, someplace on this site," said Opa-locka police spokesman David Chiverton.
Heavy equipment including back hoes were brought in as investigators fanned out over the area.
"It's a tough terrain. You got snakes, wild things back there, it's a difficult process for investigators to go through," said Hallandale Police Chief Dwayne Flournoy.
As to what they'll find, if anything, is anybody's guess.
"It could be property, it could be her remains, it could be items that we know that she was in possession of at the time that she disappeared," said Flournoy.
Hallandale Beach and Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers used machetes to hack their way through thick debris and wilderness.
"Once we get into these areas, using machetes and cutting tools, we just cut through everything," said Major Thomas Honan with Hallandale Beach police.
Honan said dozens of officers and investigators have been sifting through weeds and junk like old tires, concrete slabs and even a boat.
"Any time we find a roll of carpet in here, we take it off of the ground, we open it," said Honan. "We also make sure there's nothing underneath the carpet as well."
While they didn't find Meier, they did find a lot of other evidence like credit cards and driver's licenses from at least a dozen people.
"We need to start opening investigations and contacting each victim to find out when the crime occurred and where it occurred," said Opa-locka police Chief Jeff Key.
Area residents said the neighborhood bordering the field is a tough place to live.
"Things go on out there and they come here to hide," said John Sebastian who has lived in the area for 13 years.
After watching the massive search near his home, he said he's had enough.
"It's hard out here, I'm leaving," said Sebastian.
Flournoy said the field is connected to one of their prime suspects, Dallas King, because he used it as a dumping ground for evidence in his previous crimes including burglary.
"We know that Dallas King, on the night Lynda Meier went missing, in a home very close to this property, showed an individual Lynda Meier's driver's license and credit card," said Flournoy.
King was captured on surveillance using Meier's credit card at a bank after her disappearance. King is currently serving two life sentences for violating his probation after committing an armed robbery.
This is not the first search of a lot looking for clues to Meier's disappearance.
In June 2011, police did an exhaustive search on a large tract of land in Miami Gardens including having divers search a pond on the property.
Hallandale Beach police said even though her remains were not found this time, the search will not stop.
"If we have to dig every piece of dirt and sift through every piece of ground until we find Lynda Meier that's what we'll do," said Flournoy.
A $75,000 reward is still being offered for information that may lead to an arrest.
