On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police joined forces to conduct a digging operation near a residence in South Buffalo Township, Armstrong County.

While a state police sergeant confirmed to another news outlet that the digging was the result of an ongoing investigation, a private investigator deduced the excavating was related to the disappearance of Cherrie Mahan, who was last seen at a Winfield Township bus stop in 1985. She was 8-years-old at that time.

“It’s almost certainly connected,” said private investigator Steve Ridge. “I was aware that there was going to be a dig, and aware of that vicinity as a possibility.”

According to reports by TribLive, state police declined to say if anything was collected from the search.

Bradford Amick, a spokesman for the FBI’s Pittsburgh branch, said he was unable to comment publicly on the situation due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Cherrie disappeared from her home on Cornplanter Road on Feb. 22, 1985, shortly after stepping off the school bus. She was declared legally dead in absentia in 1998.

Ridge took up the Mahan case earlier this year, offering a $100,000 reward for any information that would lead to Cherrie’s whereabouts.

“I’m encouraged by the fact that some digging is underway,” Ridge said.

This marks the second time in the span of a month in which a crew has conducted a search operation in Western Pennsylvania seeking to find evidence related to Mahan’s disappearance. Independent of police in late September, cadaver dogs were employed to search an area in Clinton Township.

Unlike that initial search, Wednesday’s digging operation in South Buffalo was led by the FBI and state police and had no involvement from Ridge.

“I did know that there were plans underway for the FBI and state police to do a dig,” Ridge said. “I just did not know the precise timeline for that.”

According to Ridge, no actual digging has taken place yet at the site of the initial cadaver dog search in Clinton Township as of Wednesday, Oct. 22.

“They were waiting for some of the vegetation to freeze up before they would try to get in that area again,” Ridge said.

Ridge says it’s entirely possible that both locations, or even more, could hold evidence of Mahan’s fate at the same time.

“A blue backpack could have been placed at a different location than, potentially, remains or other personal items,” Ridge said. “So there could be multiple searches. I’ve had tips on up to a dozen locations to be explored.”

Cherrie Mahan in 1985