Around 150 people scouring Nebraska land for missing woman

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Around 150 people made up of various law enforcement agencies, experts and others are scouring land in southeastern Nebraska in search of a woman who’s been missing for more than nine months.

The search began Thursday at Table Rock State Wildlife Management Area about 40 miles east of Beatrice and will comb some 700 acres in search of the remains of Linda Dillard, 55, of Tecumseh, the Omaha World-Herald reported. The search is planned to run Saturday, if necessary.

Dillard last was seen near Table Rock on June 16. Investigators think she was the victim of a crime, but no one has been arrested in connection with her disappearance.

“We have no evidence that she is alive at this time,” Nebraska State Patrol Lt. Eric Jones said. “We believe that she is likely deceased.”

Those searching include rescue teams, experts in identifying human remains, cadaver dogs and a University of Nebraska-Lincoln forensic anthropologist professor and several students, the patrol said.

The search was timed to happen after the winter snow had melted off but before foliage and crops begin growing, Jones said. Smaller groups have previously searched ditches and the surrounding property, he said.