Landfill search for missing woman's body passes halfway mark

PHOENIX (AP) - A search of a Phoenix-area landfill has passed the halfway mark without finding any sign of a missing 34-year-old woman believed to be a homicide victim.

Phoenix police on Wednesday completed the fifth week of what could be a nine-week search begun in late October for remains of Christine Mustafa.

She was reported missing May 11, and police say investigators eliminated all other possibilities before concluding that her body is likely at the landfill southwest of Phoenix.

Sgt. Alan Pfohl says the dozens of searchers from the Phoenix Police Department and other agencies have found nothing "of evidentiary value" after searching nearly 6,000 tons (5,443 metric tons) of material.

Ex-boyfriend Robert John Interval on June 27 pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. His trial is scheduled for Feb. 22.