Workers dug nearly 30 feet into the ground and sifted through each scoop of dirt that came out looking for any signs of the remains of Ramer, but around 4 p.m. officials called off the search and began filling the hole back in.

“It’s my understanding that there have been numerous excavation sites related to this very event before today,” Anderson said. “But when you get credible information, you have a duty and responsibility as law enforcement to look into those leads and leave no stone unturned. You owe it to that missing person. You owe it to their family.”

Ramer, a straight-A student at Opp High School, went missing Aug. 16, 1997, just a week before the start of her senior year.

The night she went missing, Kem had played in a softball game and had made plans to go out with friends afterward. She left the ball field to go to her father’s house to take a shower, which was the last time her family ever saw her. FBI investigators believe she disappeared sometime between midnight and 5:30 a.m.