Lashaya Stine Disappearance: Equipment Brought In To Break Up Concrete At Aurora House

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - The search of a home in Aurora for evidence into the disappearance of Lashaya Stine is continuing. On Thursday police said the search has become more extensive than originally anticipated.

"We have located a few things that required additional equipment to be brought out so that's why we called Aurora Fire Rescue. They did bring out some heavy equipment that they're specially trained in, and they were able to help us out with this search," Aurora police spokesperson Matthew Longshore said.

The home is located at 2200 Lansing Street and the search is being conducted jointly between Aurora police and the FBI.

Longshore said the equipment is being used to break up or remove concrete in the basement of the home. When asked by reporters if authorities think Stine is in the home, he didn't answer directly but said that it's a matter of following investigative leads and "we have to do a thorough search, we don't want to leave anything in question."

"We want to make sure that we check all the boxes and don't miss anything," he said.

Lashaya was an honor student at George Washington High School and planned to study nursing after graduating from high school. She was 16 years old when she disappeared in 2016. Surveillance video showed Lashaya was a few blocks from the home now being searched. Officers say Lashaya knew the family who lived in the home at the time. (The home wasn't the focus of the investigation until this month.) After she vanished, her mother told CBS4 it was not like her daughter to leave late at night.

Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson came to the search scene on Thursday to talk with officers who have been working on the case all week.

"The officers have been out here for days. She wanted to thank the FBI for their help. This is obviously an important case for not only the Aurora Police Department but Lashaya's family. So Chief Wilson wanted to come out here and offer her support to everyone that's been out here all week," Longshore said.

The FBI and Crime Stoppers of Metro Denver is offering a $15,000 reward for anyone who has information that can help solve the case.