Police investigating the disappearance and death of Brayden Thibault focused on the Moncton area Saturday.
RCMP officers and search teams spent the day conducting searches around l’Université de Moncton.
Staff Sgt. André Pepin declined to say what specific information prompted Saturday’s search.
“But following tips and the investigation the RCMP has been doing for the last two years, that’s why we are doing a search at this time in that area,” said Pepin.
The search came four days after police announced they are now treating Thibault’s disappearance as a homicide.
Pepin would not say if the search was the result of any new tips they have received since the announcement.
“I cannot provide any other information regarding that, but any information that the RCMP receives, obviously we’ll be checking on it,” he said.
Police said Tuesday they will be searching “areas of interest” for Thibault’s remains over the coming weeks.
Thibault, of St. Stephen, was 17 years old when he was last seen on Gibson Street in Fredericton on July 31, 2017.
“We know that there are people who know what happened to Brayden and where his remains are located,” Pepin said. “We know that people may have heard others talking about it, what happened to Brayden.”
Anyone with information can contact the New Brunswick RCMP’s Major Crime Unit at 506-452-3491 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.