Many people stopped to see what was happening along State Road 17 in Punta Gorda.

Some reacted with fright, but also a sense of relief, that perhaps this crime, might be solved

Neighbors found shady spots to look across the road, to where officers were digging under a tarp.

Some thought back to 1999, when deputies looked in a nearby pond for the remains of Pilar.

They found nothing then, now neighbors hope this excavation, has a different result.

"Well my heart dropped and I just felt sad and I don't know how I felt," said Linda Nottingham.

WINK News also talked with a man whose property backs up to the search site.

"It was somebody's child, somebody's youngin', somebody's grandchild, it's somebody's family," said Chris Carey.

Others who are new to this neighborhood, reacted with shock and concern over the search for remains.

"You see it on TV, you don't think its going to happen specifically when you move into a area that you think is so safe," said Stacy Myers.