Farmingdale yard searched in homicide probe

Authorities looking for a missing 3-year-old child were Friday night using floodlights to search the yard of a Farmingdale home and questioning a suspect in the homicide investigation, State Police said.

The suspect, identified as Robert Rodriguez, has not been arrested in connection with the child's disappearance more than a year ago. There was no immediate word of any discovery of remains or other evidence in the case.

State Police said they would be searching the two-story house near Conklin and Hallock streets through the night.

About 6 p.m. Friday, an Amber Alert was issued for a 9-year-old autistic boy believed to have been abducted by Rodriguez in Farmingdale.

The alert was canceled less than an hour after it went out to law enforcement agencies and the media after the unharmed child, Robert Rodriguez Jr., Rodriguez's son, and his father were located on Long Island, State Police said.

"The child was located in good health. The suspect was also located," Maj. Patrick Regan, commander of State Troop L on Long Island, said in statement. "The investigation is continuing."

The State Police alert went out at 6:06 p.m., stating that Rodriguez abducted the child from a location on Hallock Street, after Rodriguez learned "of a police investigation in which he is the suspect in the homicide of another child."

No additional information was immediately made available from State Police.

Authorities told WABC-TV news that the investigation began after a tip from State Police in Middletown.

With Zachary Dowdy