Mike Householder, The Associated Press

MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) " Police looking for the remains of up to seven girls who have been missing for decades stopping digging Tuesday in suburban Detroit, suspending a multi-day effort while they decide whether to search elsewhere in Michigan or excavate the same area again.

Authorities repeatedly have said they're confident they will solve the cold cases, raising the hopes of anxious family members who are desperate to learn what happened to their loved ones. The timeout could last a week, Warren Mayor James Fouts told The Associated Press.

Police tape has been taken down and three heavy machines were silent Tuesday.

"They decided to stop and evaluate," said Fouts, whose police department is leading the investigation.

The search began a week ago in Macomb County's Macomb Township, 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of downtown Detroit. The site is roughly 25 acres (100,000 sq. meters) of woods and open fields, not far from a residential neighborhood.

Police were inspired to dig after talking to a prisoner, Arthur Ream, who was locked up in 2008 for the slaying of a 13-year-old girl. Cindy Zarzycki's remains were found a decade ago near the same woods.

Fouts said police will decide whether to dig again at the same site or shift the search elsewhere in Macomb County or to northern Michigan. He didn't disclose what investigators might know about those locations.

Konnie Beyma, whose 12-year-old sister, Kimberly King, disappeared in 1979, was at the dig Monday and expressed confidence in police. She wants to find her sister's remains and bury them in Kentucky.

"They are very certain, and we are almost there," Beyma said.