The road will be closed for an undetermined period for the investigation, Chief Deputy John Newsom said Monday.
Woods 41, a furniture salesman, was reported missing on Oct. 8, 1992, after calling his home outside Columbus.
Woods called and told his wife he was headed home to Dublin, a Columbus suburb, after making a call at a store in Lebanon.
His wife, Susan Schneier, couldn’t be reached Monday, but expressed gratitude when the cold-case team reopened the case in 2006.
“We all felt very strongly about wanting them to reopen the case. We want them to find whoever did this to him so we can have some peace,’’ she said.
Woods’ body was found, shot twice, in a ravine near the Interstate 71 exit ramp at Wilmington Road, about 1.5 miles from the interstate rest stop where his 1990 Lexus was recovered.
In 1992, investigators questioned Sam Perone, the last person reported to have seen Woods alive and a man who allegedly threatened Woods before his death.
Perone and his wife, Deborah, who owned Just Living Rooms in Lebanon, told officials they last saw Woods between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Oct. 8, 1992.
Both denied any involvement in the slaying and could not be reached Monday.
Blood stains were found in the back room of Just Living Rooms, but DNA evidence was inconclusive. On Monday Newsom said Blue Star, a spray compound, was used to detect previously undetectable blood stains.
Newsom’s teams have solved the cold-case murders of Vickie Barton and Troy Temar. Barton’s husband, Jim Barton, is in prison in Allen County, convicted in 2005 of hiring his wife’s killers in 1995. Temar’s girlfriend, Theresa Voss, is in prison in Dayton, convicted in 2006 of his murder in 1999.
In 2006, Newsom said his team continued to work Woods’ case, but had no suspects. He said the team planned to reconstruct the last 72 hours of Woods’ life.
On Monday, Newsom declined to answer other questions about the case. The search is expected to take most of the week.
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