Family members and friends called on Fairfax County police to resume the search for a loved one who authorities believe was killed in mid-January and whose body was probably dumped in a landfill.

       Relatives of Ahmed Hasheem Ebrahim, 20, of Alexandria, and an attorney for the family said at a news conference Thursday that they believe Ebrahim’s body would be found if the search is resumed at the King George Landfill in King George County.

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       “I was told they have issues with resources and manpower,” said Hasheem Ebrahim, Ahmed’s father.

       Fairfax County police disputed that idea, saying teams spent nearly three weeks and moved nearly 35,000 tons of garbage looking for Ebrahim’s body. Police said the total cost of the operation was more than $350,000.

       “This was an enormous undertaking,” Police Chief Kevin Davis said in a video about the search.

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       Ebrahim was reported missing Jan. 17, and police believe he was killed in an attempted robbery. They have charged Joel Antonio Sarabia, 20, of Fairfax, with first-degree murder and a 17-year-old juvenile in connection with Ebrahim’s disappearance.

       Davis said both men told authorities that Ebrahim’s body was put in a dumpster, which police determined was emptied at the landfill. The Fairfax County public defender’s office, which is representing Sarabia, has declined to comment on the case.