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Sources: Police searching landfill in missing Jacksonville teen case

Iyana Sawyer never came home from Terry Parker High School Dec. 19

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Investigators combed through a landfill north of Baldwin Tuesday in connection with the disappearance of a pregnant teenager, sources confirmed to News4Jax.

Sky4 video over the Otis Road Landfill showed Jacksonville officers in yellow protective suits sifting through trash dumped out by heavy machinery. More than 30 police cars were parked outside the landfill.

Investigators returned to the landfill Wednesday morning to continue their search. 

A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman would only say they were "following up an investigative lead in an active case," but News4Jax was told that case is the disappearance of 16-year-old Iyana Sawyer, who was last seen leaving Terry Parker High School for lunch on Dec. 19.

Sawyer's sister came home from school that day, but Iyana was not with her.

Sources said investigators are looking for clues at the landfill after receiving tips.

The JSO spokesman said investigators do not have an end date for the search and will continue "until the investigation is satisified with the results."

The family said it was aware Iyana was five-months pregnant and that had not caused any friction with them or been a reason she would have left home. The family also said she had been going to her doctor appointments and had a named picked out for the baby.

The family said that police were actively searching for Iyana, but they were not aware of Tuesday's landfill search.

WATCH: Landfill searched in missing teen case, sources say

No description found

We know Iyana's uncle was arrested on unrelated sexual assault charges and is being held in the Duval County jail on $250,000 bond.

News4Jax is at the landfill trying to learn more about the search and any updates in the case.

Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of Iyana is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.


About the Authors
Corley Peel headshot

Corley Peel is a Texas native and Texas Tech graduate who covered big stories in Joplin, Missouri, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jacksonville, Florida before returning to the Lone Star State. When not reporting, Corley enjoys hot yoga, Tech Football, and finding the best tacos in town.

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