ENON, Ohio -- Police are conducting a search in Clark County for the body of Erica Baker, the 9-year-old Kettering girl who went missing almost a decade ago.

Kettering police are digging in the Enon Beach Recreation Park in Clark County based on an anonymous tip.  A backhoe was being used to search a large area quickly.

The search went on throughout the day, and authorities said the search will continue Thursday if necessary. 

Police said they have received many tips over the years, and they take all of them seriously.

Erica Baker was last seen walking her dog near the Kettering Recreation Center on February 7, 1999.

The dog was later found, but the young girl was not.  The case remained a cold case until 2005, when Christian Gabriel was convicted of tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse.

Police said Gabriel was driving a van while fleeing a shoplifting incident with several others when he struck and killed Erica Baker.  He then put her body in the van and buried her in an unknown location somewhere in the Miami Valley.

He was sentenced to six years in prison, and is scheduled to be released in July 2011.

Gabriel was the only person ever charged in the case.