but etan never made it. at the end of the school day when he didn't come home, his mom called the police. >> by that time, several hours had passed before anyone had any idea there was something wrong. those were crucial hours for an investigation. >> reporter: etan's dad starts grabbing photos to show to people in the neighborhood. investigators interview the parents and start canvassing the area for the youngster. see that traffic light? that is the bus stop, i'm a block away, this is where the fbi is now searching that basement, see all their equipment here including blue tent you see? in that basement writ menment i carpenter had a workshop. more than 30 years ago, police searched the basement but did not dig it up. the fbi is trying to figure out whether the key to etan's disappearance is right here all along. sus susan candiotti, cnn new york. >> we'll to in watch that throughout the morning. >>> a witness to history, secret service agents risk their lives every day. coming up we'll hear from two forme

the loss of etan patz launched the missing child movement. today investigators are combing through the basement of new york city building for new clues, maybe even the boy's remains. we'll talk this morning with commissioner ray kelly. also mark class when i was a reporter back in 1993, i covered the disappearance of his daughter. >>> scary moments aboard a delta airline flight. just after takeoff from jfk. cnn's ali velshi was on that plane and described what happened. >> of course, ali was. >> it ended well, i should add, and then freaky deky the new name with chris mcglover and the name is based on the book "freaky deaky." did you ever read that? yes, pete's nodding his head. you cannot possibly articulate the plot of a novel. it's just impossible. but i have to say. >> but you're going to try. >> we are going to try. a lot of fun and just complete and other craziness that will appear on sunday at the tribecka film festival. they'll join us live this morning. >>> also a anybody who wants to catch us on our live blog cnn.com/startingpoint.

but etan never made it. at the end of the school day when he didn't come home, his mom calls police. >> by that time, several hours had passed before anyone had any idea there was something wrong. those are crucial hours for an investigation. >> reporter: etan's dad frantic starts grabbing photos of his son to show to people in the neighborhood. investigators interview the participants and start canvassing the area for the youngster. see that traffic light? that's the bus stop. and right here we are just a block away. this is where the fbi is now digging up that basement. a basement where a carpenter used to have a workshop way back when more than 30 years ago. police did search that basement, but they did not dig it up. now the fbi is trying to figure out whether the key to etan's disappearance was right here all along. >> stunning to think there could be a new development. i'm joined now by forensic scientist from the college of criminal justice. also by mary ellen o'toole. and lisa cohen. she's the author

but etan never made it. at the end of the school day when he didn't come home, his mom calls police. >> by that time, several hours had passed before anyone had any idea there was something wrong. those are crucial hours for an investigation. >> reporter: etan's dad frantic starts grabbing photos of his son to show to people in the neighborhood. investigators interview the parents and start canvassing the area for the youngster. see that traffic light? that's the bus stop. and right here we are just a block away. this is where the fbi is now digging up that basement. a basement where a carpenter used to have a workshop way back when more than 30 years ago. police did search that basement, but they did not dig it up. now the fbi is trying to figure out whether the key to etan's disappearance was right here all along. >> stunning to think there could be a new development. i'm joined now by forensic scientist from the college of criminal justice. also by mary ellen o'toole. former fbi special agent. and lisa co

etan was 6 years old when he van arish areished in 1979. in 2001 declared legally dead, remains never found. tonight, though, just blocks away from his home in manhattan's soho district, police and fbi agents believe they're on to something. susan candiotti is there for us. she has the latest breaking developments. i understand you have something that tells us what led officials to that building. what do you know? >> reporter: law enforcement sources tell me that they came here based on new and old information that led them to a man, a man who is now in his mid-70s. but at the time he was a carpenter and and part-time handyman. i'm told he had befriended the boy and given him a dollar. we don't know the circumstances how this came about, in fact this led authorities into that basement picking up a human scent, bringing in a team of investigators, and they've been searching the basement all day long. >> basically tearing the basement apart, i imagine? >> reporter: they are. in fact, they also don't have this man in custody, but they know who

it's on the route that etan walked. he had seen -- etan had seen the man the day before because he came home with a dollar bill and he was very excited. he said that it had been given to him because of work he completed. that is something that happened before. >> you have written about this in your book. he's not a suspect in the case. not even a person of interest in this case but this is the basement where they are looking. you keep in close contact with the patz family obviously. what's happening with them right this moment because i'm sure they're now at the center of this media storm. >> i think they are under siege. there are reporter camped out outside their door. i got a sense of what they described to me happening in the days immediately following etan's disappearance and then for years after that every time there would be a new spark of interest in the case. you know, when he first went missing, there were hundreds of policemen combing the streets searching rooftops and looking in basements and i believe they

that was before etan. after etan everything changed. >> reporter: images were placed on milk cartons and the case started the movement that led to the founding of the national center for missing children. but for sam and julie patz, there was never closure. the disappearance became a cold case. for years jose ramos, a convicted child molester from the neighborhood, who dated etan's babysitter, was considered the prime suspect. miller, the handyman, was considered a friend to the young boy. the day before he disappeared, he came home with a dollar bill that he said miller had given him for helping out. the fbi and police say miller is cooperating with the investigation. john miller, cbs news, new york. >>> secretary of state hillary clinton wants the u.n. to adapt new measures against syria, including an arms embargo. speaking in paris yesterday, clinton did not call for military intervention. meantime, videos that appeared online yesterday, allegedly shows angry syrians with a u.n. observer as they examine

does it belong to etan or somebody else? >> etan went missing on his very first walk to a bus stop alone. give us a sense as to how close to the scene of the investigation right now is to his home and the location where he was walking that day? >> reporter: yeah, it's quite remarkable. he lives literally a half a block away, maybe a hundred feet or so from where i'm standing. and his parents still live at that same location, so this basement that they're examining now is just with a half a block from where they used to live and from there another block to a school bus stop where he was to be heading that day when he left his mom. so they don't know where he went or where he was when he vanished. >> and susan, someone else was convicted for this little boy's disappearance. what's the latest on that man who was a convicted child molester, jose ramos? >> reporter: i'll get to that in just a second. i have new information from my producer ross. >> a blue van has just pulled up. they've obscured our view. >> reporter: we understa

and after etan, everybody changed. >> reporter: images of etan patz were placed on milk cartons. but for stan and julie patz, there was never closure. the disappearance became a cold case. for years, jose ramos a convicted child molester from the neighborhood who indicated etan's baby-sitter was considered the prime suspect. john miller is joining us now. john, what led them to that basement? >> reporter: well, this takes this case in an entirely different direction from the former prime suspect, jose ramos, and it's a couple of things, scott. it's... there's a sealed affidavit filed in court. they have witness information in there. it concerns when that concrete floor went down, right after the boy disappeared, why it went down. and another element is they brought in f.b.i. cadaver dogs who did a search of that area. they've done some ground- penetrating sonar. they've seen some anomalies. this gave them probable cause to bring to a judge for a search warrant. >> pelley: after 33 years. john, thank you very much. a u.s. army black hawk helicopter has crashed in southwestern afgh

possibility that after 33 years julie and sydney patz will finally know what happened to their son etan. the first taken child to become a household name and face. people at breakfast tables saw the first of its kind on their milk carton he vanished in 1979. in 2001 declared legally dead, remains never found. tonight, though, just blocks away from his home in manhattan's soho district, police and fbi agents believe they're on to something. susan candiotti is there for us. what do you know? >> reporter: law enforcement sources tell me that they came here based on new and old information that led them to a man. a man who is now in his mid-70s. but at the satime he was a car carpenter and and befriended the boy and given him a dollar. we don't know the circumstances how this came about, in fact this informatiled authorize int basement picking up a human scent, bringing in a team of investigators certaining the ba searching the basement all day long. >> basically tearing the basement apart, i imagine? >> reporter: they are. in fact, they also don't have this man in custody, but they know wh

etan was 6 years old when he vanished back in 1979. in 2001, he was declared legally dead. his remains never found. tonight, though, just blocks away from his home in manhattan's sojo district, police and fbi agents believe they're on to something. susan canned yacht okand yaucan developments. you have some information on what led investigators to that building. what do you know? >> reporter: law enforcement sources tell me they came here based on new and old information that led them to a man, a man who is now in his mid-70s. but at the time he was a carpenter and part-time handyman. i'm told that he had contact with this little boy in his basement, had befriended him and given the little boy a dollar. now, we don't know the circumstances about how this came about, but in fact this information led authorities to brung bring in a cadaver dog into that basement which picked up a human scent. that in turn made them bring in a team of investigators and they have been searching this basement all day long. >> so they're basically at this point tearing that basement apart, i imag

etan was walking aloan to his bus stop for the first time that day. he was eager for school. the distance was only two blocks, and suddenly he was gone. with few clues or witnesses to shed light on what had happened. his face was one of the first of a missing child to ever appear on a milk carton, a national manhunt ensued, and yet even as the leads led nowhere, public awareness grew about the whole problem of missing kids. five years later, president reagan signed legislation which led to the creation of the national center for missing and exploited children. >> etan was the face of the movement. in many ways he was the first missing child. he was america's missing child. >> reporter: ernie allen is president and ceo and followed the patz case for years. >> does it make things better or worse for missing children? >> it's bad in that it created in many ways too many fear. i think it was good in that it awakened the nation, and it made parents think that we couldn't anymore engage in benign neglect and assume that the world was a better place. >> reporter: etan was officially

they spoke to etan's father, stanley patz, yesterday. >> it's a double-edged sword for him because when this happens, there is -- there is this hope, but in token, there's this swarm of all this attention. >> it's an iconic case that has recaptured the nation's attention. in chicago -- >> it was a story that shocked chicago and the nation. >> in los angeles -- >> oh, yeah, everybody is a little more guarded with their children, of course. >> and it's brought back that painful memory for ursela, an 8-year-old when he disappeared, who like etan, walked to a bus stop in the same neighborhood to get to school. >> i hope they do find something, just an answer. the worst part is not having any shred of an answer, of anything. >> investigators say this operation could last for several more days. and they still refuse to say if it's likely they'll find anything significant. also late today, police sources confirmed another man, a friend of the handyman, is also under investigation in this case. brian. >> ron allen here in new york tonight. ron, thanks. >>> up next here this evening, something w

and that was before etan. and after etan, everybody changed. >> images of etan patz was put on milk cartons. but for stan ask jewel patz, there was never closure. the disappearance became a cold case. for years, jose ramos a convict the child molester from the neighborhood who indicated etan's baby-sitter was considered the prime suspect. john miller is joining us now. john, what led them to that basement. >> this takes this case in an entirely different direction from the former prime suspect, jose ramos. and it's a couple of things, scott. there's a sealed affidavit filed in court. they have witnesses information in there. it concerns when that concrete floor went down, right after the boy disappeared, why it went down. and another element is they brought in f.b.i. can darfur dogs who did a search of that area. they've did some ground-penetrating sonar. they've seen this anomaly lees this knave them probable cause to bring to a judge for a search warrant. >> pelley: after 33 years. john, thank you very much.

possibility that after 33 years julie and sydney patz will finally know what happened to their son etan. the first taken child to become a household name and face. people at breakfast tables saw the first of its kind on their milk carton he vanished in 1979. in 2001 declared legally dead, remains never found. tonight, though, just blocks away from his home in manhattan's soho district, police and fbi agents believe they're on to something. susan candiotti is there for us. what do you know? >> reporter: law enforcement sources tell me that they came here based on new and old information that led them to a man. a man who is now in his mid-70s. but at the time he was a carpenter and and befriended the boy and given him a dollar. we don't know the circumstances how this came about, in fact this led authorize into a basement picking up a human scent, bringing in a team of investigators certaining the searching the basement all day long. >> basically tearing the basement apart, i imagine? >> reporter: they are. in fact, they also don't have this man in custody, but they know who he is and whe

but etan never made it. at the end of the school day when he didn't come home, his mom calls police. by that time, several hours had passed before anyone had any idea there was something wrong. those are crucial hours for an investigation. >> etan's dad, frantic, starts grabbing photos of his son to start showing to people in the neighborhood. investigators interview the parents and start canvassing the area for the youngster. >> susan candiotti joins us from new york. what's happening there today's? >> well, today, for the third day in a row, the fbi continues its search for the remains of etan patz. you can see all of the activity behind me. that's the building where the fbi agents finished jackhammering down the walls and breaking apart the cement floor that was there. and now they're in the basement of that building. they are sifting at this point through dirt and soil, going six feet down into the ground. the see whether they can determine or see any sign of his remains, and any difference in the soil,

etan's father spoke about him at the time. >> this man stole away etan's future. and he should pay for it. >> reporter: after 33 years, his parents want answers, but for now as the note on the door indicates they also want privacy. >> susan candiotti. they have been searching in this basement since thursday. how much progress have they made? >> well, they're getting a lot of work done. they've stopped their efforts for the day. but this is after 2 1/2 days worth of jackhammering up, down the floor. tearing down dry wall. and now they say they're halfway down of the area they had been searching. sifting six feet down into the ground. digging that far down. now, i'm told that anything that they have been finding has been sent to the fbi's main crime lab in quantico, virginia, and so far we have no word, don, of any conclusive results. >> susan candiotti, thank you very much for that report. >>> turning now to afghanistan. the war in afghanistan. new documents suggest a rare but troubling problem among some troops serving there. eight soldiers have reportedly died fr

etan patz, one of those first faces to stare at us from the milk cartons. he disappeared when he was 6 years old. he was on his way to the school bus. and today, decades later, police have mobilized, unleashing dogs, to track new clues, vowing to work 24 hours a day to find an answer. and abc's david muir is at the scene, at that crossroads tonight. david? >> reporter: diane, good evening. as you know, for 33 years, the parents of that little boy didn't move, they didn't change their phone number, hoping that one day, alive, he might call them. well, tonight, in what could be a major break in the case, authorities are back on the very same block, looking for traces of their son. from the sky today, the view of that same new york city neighborhood, that same block, where 33 years ago, a little boy named etan patz, just 6 years old, disappeared on his walk to school. it was the first morning his parents left their little boy walk to the school bus alone. the national headlines of the disappearance frightened an entire nation of parents at a time when little a

etan would have been 40 this coming october. >> hard to believe. ron allen on one of the enduring mysteries in new york city inresisant times. >> what happened in the skies over the gulf of mexico today reminds a lot of people when the jet carrying the golfer payne stewart crashed after those onboard lost consciousness when the plane's cabin lost pressure. today, it was a twin engine cessna believed to have just the pilot onboard. look at the pattern it flew, around and around in circles before running out of fuel and crashing into the water. the pilot never responded to attempts to raise him by radio. >>> there was another scare today involving a delta wide body flight from new york to l.a. it suffers an engine strike after takeoff. thankfully, it was able to circle back, return to jfk without incident. >>> the big health news story tonight is this. sadly, there is new evidence we can't afford to think of measles as a vanquished disease, that we don't have to worry about it anymore. in fact, the cdc said today last year was the worst year for meas

hours after etan disappeared. but this has a stunning development of a promising new lead. >> what's extraordinary is this guy is now 75. he's not the main suspect that people have believed may have committed this crime. that is somebody else who's coming out of prison very soon for other offenses. but this guy has been out there all this time and they believe he may be connected. he was with etan the day before he died and he is suspected of being involved in some incident with etan in the basement of this block of flats which they're now trailing with dozens and dozens of their operatives. this is an extraordinary development after so long, isn't it? >> absolutely extraordinary. this child walked two blocks, as you said, and was always assumed when the investigation began that the disappearance was not an abduction into a car, taken away, but that it happened somewhere along that path. and the likelihood that it was someone the child knew was always greater than that it was a stranger. so the fact that this stor

etan patz, one of those first faces to stare at us from the milk cartons. he disappeared when he was 6 years old. he was on his way to the school bus. and today, decades later, police have mobilized, unleashing dogs, to track new clues, vowing to work 24 hours a day to find an answer. and abc's david muir is at the scene, at that crossroads tonight. david? >> reporter: diane, good evening. as you know, for 33 years, the parents of that little boy didn't move, they didn't change their phone number, hoping that one day, alive, he might call them. well, tonight, in what could be a major break in the case, authorities are back on the very same block, looking for tralss of their son. from the sky today, the view of that same new york city neighborhood, that same block, where 33 years a go, etan patz disappeared on his walk to school. it was the first morning his parents left their little boy walk to the school bus alone. the national headlines of the disappearance frightened and entire nation of parents at a time when little attention was given to children who h

etan patz was the first face to be put on milk cartons. now, there's major developments in the case. here's abc's david muir. >> reporter: 33 years ago, etan patz was going to school. his disappearance frightened an entire nation to parents. at a time when little attention was given to children who had gone missing. the case ignited a movement. president reagan at the time, declared missing children's day. three decades later, there is a break. it's possible etan never got further than his own block that morning. dozens of agents preparing to dig out a baitment in a nearby building, along the path the boy took that morning. abc news has learned in recent days, a carpenter, a handyman, who wasn't worked in that building has been questioned. a cadaver dog brought to the carpenter's old workshop, picking up the scent. >> we're looking for what the warrant indicates. for either human remains or personal effects and clothing. >> reporter: it's believed that carpenter, othneil miller, had been friendly with the boy years ago. giving etan a dolla

- nobody will ever forget etan patz. it was the first time he was walking to school. he was 6 years old, actually walking to the bus which was two blocks from his home. what makes this particular area that you see right there of particular interest to the fbi and also to police is that it was -- he would have had to have passed a workshop on his way to get to the bus stop. the basement of that workshop is right now being torn up. new concrete had been poured days after he went missing and so right now, what the evidence team is doing, they're doing through dirt, looking at the concrete, they did a preliminary search, spent most of saturday and sunday doing that. then they sort of stopped. nobody knows why they stopped the search. they are beginning to continue there this morning. i was down there, huge police presence this morning. but what they're going to do, they want to see whether there were perhaps any bones, fragments, whether this is blood or it's not blood. they really want to rule it out. but a new investigator

etan patz, one of those first faces to stare at us from the milk cartons. he disappeared when he was 6 years old. he was on his way to the school bus. and today, decades later, police have mobilized, unleashing dogs, to track new clues, vowin to work 24 hours a day to find an answer. and abc's david muir is at the scene, at that crossroads tonight. david? >> reporter: diane, good evening. as you know, for 33 years, the parents of that little boy didn't move, they didn't change their phone number, hoping that one day, alive, he might call them. well, tonight, in what could be a major break in the case, authorities are back on the very same block, looking for tralss of their son. from the sky today, the view of that same new york city neighborhood, that same block, where 33 years a go, etan patz disappeared on his walk to school. it was the first morning his parents left their little boy walk to the school bus alone. the national headlines of the disappearance frightened and entire nation of parents at a time when little attention was given to children who ha

this is on etan's way to the bus. this is a no brainer. new cement. why didn't they dig it up back in 1979. they knew it was brand newly poored cement. >> that was a supervisor decision that had to be made and maybe they were penny wise and pound foolish. if that happened today that would basement would be done in the way that it is right now. >> in addition to the dog hitting on the floor which happened as a result of the opening of this case by the manhattan d. a. what else would they need to get a search warrant? >> the probable cause. maybe mr. miller made a statement that was able to get some probable cause. they might have had forensic crime scene equipment. as i mentioned the ground penetrating radar which if it shows density and shows a void they will be able to detect something is in there. >> and what is interesting according to some public reports etan patz's mother to go talk to miller and it was is after they talked to miller twice they went for search warrant. there are absorbing pads that capture the scent of human retains. how does tha

etan patz vanished without a trace in 1979. new evidence led law enforcement officials to a building a few doors from where patz's home was and back to someone they questioned before. john miller reports. >> reporter: for the first time in three decades police and the fbi returned in force to the new york city block where etan patz vanished. paul brown. >> we're putting great emphasis on the location, looking forensically for any evidence of human remains, of clothing. >> reporter: investigates intend to dig up the concrete floor of a basement, which was the workshop of a handyman who befriended the boy. the concrete floor was laid days after etan vanished. he vanished in may 1979, last seen by his mom walking to a school bus stop by himself. the case tapped into the fears of every parent. it was one of the most highly publicized disappearances of a child. author lisa cohen wrote a book on a case. >> i think this really was turning point for american culture. i can't tell you how many people who say, how could you let him walk