GREENACRES, Fla. – Deputies are investigating a new tip involving the 35-year-old disappearance of an 8-year-old South Florida girl.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Monday investigators are digging for clues not far from where Christy Luna was last seen.
The 8-year-old Greenacres girl disappeared May 27, 1984, after she went to the Belk's General Store to buy food for her cat.
Jose Reyes Jr. told Local 10 News he grew up with Christy and actually saw her soon before she disappeared. He said he can't believe in this much time, there has been no resolution to her case.
"All I kept thinking in my head was, it could have been me or my little sisters that could have been abducted, just like her," he said.
Bradshaw told reporters his detectives received a tip in May, shortly after the release of a documentary on Christy's disappearance, that "gave us what we believe is probably one of the best and most credible leads that we have got to date to solve this case."
The sheriff said anthropologists from Florida Gulf Coast University are assisting investigators at the dig site. He hopes it brings some closure to Christy's family.
"It has been 35 years, two months and nine days today," her mother, Jennie Johnson, said. "I think we're going to bring Christy home."
Bradshaw didn't answer any questions from reporters.