KINGSTON, Jamaica – Police came up empty-handed in a search of the Riverton City landfill in St Andrew in hopes of finding the body of missing social media influencer Donna-Lee Donaldson.

“The officers spent almost three-quarters of a day searching with dogs. Heavy equipment assisted in the process and they turned up with nothing,” deputy commissioner Fitz Bailey told journalists on Tuesday.

Donaldson, who was last seen on July 11 at an apartment believed to be occupied by her boyfriend at the Chelsea Manor complex in New Kingston, is presumed dead. Her boyfriend, Noel Maitland, who is a constable in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), has been charged with her murder although cops have not found a body.

READ: Cop boyfriend charged with murder in Donna-Lee Donaldson case

According to Bailey, cops did not need to locate her body before charging Maitland as there was enough circumstantial and other evidence to move the case forward.

Bailey, who heads the crime portfolio in the JCF, said the evidence was gathered through numerous searches of Mailand’s apartment and other means.

“We have been there and it is not unusual to revisit scenes especially in cases where you start out with a missing person. You want to find out why a person went missing and once you become suspicious you have to widen the scope of your investigations and that is what we did. As you look at our case review, things will come to your knowledge so you will send back to do some other lines of inquiry as well as some more forensic type work.

“We continued to go back until we were satisfied that we had exhausted the possibilities surrounding that particular scene. There are certain instances where you hold the scene for a number of days but you have to consider that that is where the person lives. What I know is that we have some very good and competent experts who have the ability to process any scene and their standard can be compared to anywhere across the globe.”

Bailey said several hours of closed-circuit television footage was viewed and exhausted, which supported the decision to charge Maitland.

“Based on the report from the investigators, I think they have exhausted it. I must tell you that it was very helpful in certain aspects of the investigation. I actually viewed some of it.”

As it relates to a couch – believed could be key evidence in the matter – that was removed from Maitland’s apartment and hauled away in a truck, Bailey said, “We have not found it. We thought we found it but it is not it”.

The deputy commissioner of police indicated that other people are believed to be involved, but declined to give details.