On Thursday, crews searched a New York landfill for an 11-year-old boy who has been missing for weeks.

Police told WHEC that they are searching High Acres Landfill in Perinton on a hunch. A dumpster behind Jacob Prichett’s Brooklyn apartment is apparently dumped at this landfill, but authorities have not confirmed whether the case has shifted from a missing person investigation to a recovery mission.

WHEC reported that backhoes moved debris at the ridge of the landfill before roughly two dozen police in white hazmat suits started combing the area.

On September 25, the Administration for Children’s Services conducted a welfare check at a Brooklyn apartment. Case workers reportedly searched the home and found no sign of Prichett, whose mother allegedly refused to show a birth certificate.

On October 1, the agency returned to the apartment with NYPD officers. However, they still could not find any evidence of Prichett living there.

During that search, a K-9 cadaver dog reportedly detected human blood on a refrigerator in the apartment — which did not have electricity. The 50-year-old woman, who initially denied being the missing boy’s mother, was taken into custody.

According to reports, neighbors said they last saw Prichette, who is autistic and nonverbal, weeks before the Administration for Children’s Services’ welfare check. They also claimed they heard Preichette’s mother yelling at him before his disappearance.

It is unclear whether Prichette’s mother was charged in connection with his disappearance. Reports indicated that she was hospitalized as an emotionally disturbed person.

[Feature Photo: NYPD]