Police searching a Macomb County landfill for the remains of missing mom Ashley Elkins found nothing substantive Thursday, but say they will return Friday morning to go a “little deeper, a little wider” in their targeted area.

“We got a lot of work in today and we’ll be back in the morning,” Roseville police Chief Mitch Berlin told reporters. “We’re still in our targeted area but we have some more to go, a little deeper, a little wider.

“Hopefully, we will finish up.”

Elkins, 30, a mother of two young sons, has been missing since Jan. 3 when family members last saw her leave her Warren residence to run a few errands.

Her former boyfriend, DeAndre Howard Booker, 32, of Roseville, has been charged with lying to police officers concerning the hunt for Elkins. He is being held on a $250,000 bond in the Macomb County Jail and is considered the prime suspect in her disappearance.

About 20 officers methodically combed through a seven-acre section of compacted trash in Pine Tree Acres landfill on 29 Mile Road in Lenox Township for four days straight in bitterly cold weather conditions.

Thursday’s search did not turn up any new evidence, but police said they are analyzing items of interest found in the preceding days. The items reportedly were left in a dumpster at Booker’s residence that was confiscated by police.

It is believed investigators are using the items to help build a timeline of what might have happened to Elkins. Her cellphone last pinged in the area around Booker’s Roseville apartment, according to police.

“The weather is cold but we work through it. Everyone is dressed for it. The officers are unbelievable,” Berlin said. “We stayed until the end and 20 officers didn’t want to leave.”

Elkins, who worked as a hairstylist, remains missing but is presumed to be dead, according to family members.

The case has gained national media attention.

Maurice Morton, Elkins’ uncle and an attorney, told The Macomb Daily waiting for word on finding her body has been tough on the family. But they have no other choice, he said.

“We are very appreciative of the efforts by the police department. We know they don’t have to be out there at the landfill,” Morton said.

The police chief stressed a thorough search of a landfill in the middle of the winter on an uneven terrain requires a careful approach. Officers who volunteered to conduct the search are using bulldozers, excavators, shovels, rakes and cadaver dogs.

Berlin was asked about a social media site that incorrectly reported Wednesday the woman’s body had been located in the trash dump.

“Just terrible,” he said. “There was no indication that anything occurred here yesterday. We’ve been nothing but transparent in our communication with the family since the beginning. We are still on course, we just have to finish.”