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Layton police Tuesday were using a backhoe to dig up the ground at a Roy home as part of their search for a man missing since last spring.

Layton police Lt. Travis Lyman confirmed that the property at 3812 West 4550 South was being excavated in hopes of turning up "items of evidence related to a missing person case involving Victor Flores."

Working behind a tarp, police and forensics experts with a search warrant were in the same area where a ground-penetrating radar was used late last week, Lyman confirmed. Officers had begun digging on Monday.

Asked specifically if police were expecting to find a body at the scene, Lyman could neither confirm nor deny that. "I cannot comment on what has been found at this point. When we're done, we'll issue a [news] release," Lyman said Tuesday afternoon.

Flores went missing in last May. In June, Layton police issued a public appeal for help in locating the 25-year-old man, saying he had disappeared under "suspicious circumstances."

Flores was last seen in the northern Utah city on May 9, having come to Layton from San Gabriel, Calif., to find work, police said.

Sandra Banuelos, a friend of the Flores family in California, told The Salt Lake Tribune last June that Flores had left for Utah on May 7 with an acquaintance who promised a construction job — but he later called home to say the trip had turned out to be "a bad idea" and that he planned to return to California.

"No one has heard from him since," Banuelos said, adding that the Flores family suspected the man who accompanied Flores had a criminal record, and that the job offer was bogus. The family feared for his safety.

Banuelos said she understood police tried to contact Flores at a Layton home where he was believed to be staying. Flores was not there, but a male resident told officers he was fine, she said. However, when police returned to question that man again, he could not be found, Banuelos added.

Banuelos could not be reached for comment Tuesday on the possible latest developments in the case.

Police have confirmed that officers had visited a residence, asked questions and the tenants had moved shortly thereafter. It was unclear, however, whether the tenants were already in the process of moving at the time, possibly for reasons unrelated to Flores.

Neighbor Michelle Lyman said she recalls officers visiting the home, possibly in fall or early winter. She said the investigation appears to be focused on one house, and she has not heard of any more general efforts to canvas the neighborhood in search of Flores.

"I wish we knew more," she said.

Anyone with information on Flores' whereabouts is urged to contact Layton police at 801-497-8300.

Tribune reporter Erin Alberty contributed to this story.

remims@sltrib.com