Police dig up garden in hunt to find missing five-year-old boy

Police in the US state of Idaho are following a ‘credible’ new lead into the disappearance of a five-year-old boy who has been missing for more than a year.Michael Vaughan was last seen on July 27, 2021, near his home in the city of Fruitland.Fruitland Police Chief JD Huff said officers received a ‘credible tip’ that led them to dig up a back garden in the town this weekend.The officer told local reporters: “During the course of the investigation, we received information the remains of Michael Vaughan might be found (behind the house). As a result, we obtained a search warrant. We have not found anything yet but we will continue to excavate in hopes of finding his remains.”Police are expected to make a further announcement later today. Michael was last seen on July 27, 2021 (Image: Fruitland Police)Mr Huff confirmed that the couple who live at the house do not own it and – as far as he is aware – do not have a connection to Michael’s family.Since Michael’s disappearance, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, have scoured thousands of acres of land in rural western Idaho, 29 miles of riverbank, drained canals and combed through dozens of files of security footage, Fox News reported.But the recent tip-off provided to officers, caused them to search the garden of the home, which is located just four minutes away from the field where Michael vanished.The authorities are believed to have used an excavator, backhoe and sniffer dogs as part of the search.READ MORE: Two men killed and third injured in horror stabbing Michael with his mum, Brandi Neal (Image: Fruitland Police) Police cordoned off the area (Image: KTVB)The police chief told KTVB they had plans to dig three or four feet deep into the soil and excavate the entire garden.The young boy was last seen sometime between 6:30pm and 7:15pm in the open field adjacent to his home, but it is unclear what he was doing in the location.Michael, who was known to his family as ‘monkey’ was wearing a light blue Minecraft T-shirt, dark blue boxer briefs and flip-flops the day he went missing.At the time of his disappearance, he was described as being 3 feet 6 inches tall with blonde hair, blue eyes, and weighed about 50 pounds (3.5 st).During a press conference earlier this year, police said there was evidence to suggest Michael had been abducted but they continue to investigate tips and leads from the public. Police previously said Michael could have been abducted (Image: KTVB)The most recent lead came from a “very credible tip”, Huff said, which then led to police to obtain a search warrant, which they served on Friday night.Last year, Michael’s family released a statement through the Fruitland Police Department.It read: “Our Family is broken right now. Monkey’s sisters are missing their [sic] partner in crime, and his brother won’t play Minecraft until Michael comes home. Monkey, your Mommy and Daddy miss you more than anything in this world.”We need you home to be whole. We are so grateful for every single person’s prayers, kind words, sharing his picture and any little step to help bring Michael home.”