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Authorities find new evidence connected to 2017 disappearance, murder

Jeffersontown Police confirm they are digging on Ottawa Avenue, in connection to the disappearance of Austin Gamez and murder of Teresa McCoy.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jeffersontown Police confirm they are working on a joint investigation with Louisville Metro Police and the FBI in connection to the 2017 disappearance of Austin Gamez and the murder of Teresa McCoy. 

Authorities started digging on Ottawa Avenue in the Beechmont neighborhood on Monday, March 13. 

This is a known location in the case, according to the victim's family, and the place where family members believe Gamez was murdered in 2017. 

Cadaver dogs were used on Monday to search the property and digging is expected to continue all day Tuesday, officials said. 

Gamez's mother Amy Gamez told WHAS11 she is aware of the ongoing dig and hopeful the investigators' work will provide answers. 

"I just want answers for my family, for Austin's boys. I want them to answer for what they did because I know they did it. I know they did it," Gamez said, referring to two men who were arrested in connection to the double homicide. 

Charges against the men have since been dropped after DNA test results revealed blood discovered did not match the victims.

In a statement released by Louisville Metro Police Department, Jeffersontown Police Department uncovered new information while searching Tuesday. 

To protect the integrity of the case, investigators say they are not prepared to discuss the findings of the search warrant.

Case Background

In December 2017, Teresa McCoy was found dead in an SUV in the parking lot of an auto parts shop on Strawberry Lane, not far from Ottawa Avenue.

Immediately after her death, police started looking for Austin Gamez, a friend of McCoy's who went missing that same day. He has never been found.

According to the arrest citation, LMPD investigators said they recovered "several items of evidentiary value identifying the involvement of the listed subject in both murders" before their bodies were moved.

But those charges have since been dropped after DNA test results revealed blood discovered did not match the victims.

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