FBI and police authorities are winding down their work at the site in Manhattan. Chief police spokesman Paul Browne says the case remains a missing-person investigation, but authorities found no obvious human remains.
Officials have spoken to the family of Etan Patz. On Tuesday, investigators started carting away two large steel containers and other bags.
The search in SoHo began after an FBI dog indicated the scent of human remains in the room.
The basement was used at the time of the boy's disappearance as a workspace for a handyman named Othniel Miller. He has not been named a suspect.
