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While Sam the Accelerant Sniffing Fire Dog (see The John Cooke Fraud Report, July/August 1994 issue) is an indisputably fine tool in an arson investigation, he’s not trained to sniff out corpses – especially those that are located underwater.
Similarly, however, death claim investigators and other law enforcement entities now have a tool of their own. “Hershe,” like Sam, has a uniquely trained nose and is now assisting in investigations.
His shoes and socks were found in a car by the lake in California, but the 21-year-old man had been missing for 6 days. Police investigators had the grim feeling that he was lying at the bottom of Lake Mission Viejo. Frogmen from the sheriff’s dive team had begun their slow, methodical sweep of the muddy lake bottom when the latest advance in underwater detection arrived:
Hershe, a brown Labrador Retriever and county rescue dog.
Hershe took a few loud sniffs of the dock and bounded into the cold water. Within minutes of being coaxed back onto a boat, the dog began quivering in excitement, alerting his trainer that the body was nearby. About 40 feet below the surface of that very spot, divers discovered the body of the young man.
Dogs have been used for decades by a handful of search and rescue teams to detect underwater graves. They respond to human scents that rise to the surface. Gases are emitted by decomposition and linger on the water surface; body oils and tissue make their way to the surface as well. Conditions have to be right for the dogs to do their job; fast-running currents can scatter a scent beyond the dogs’ ability to pinpoint locations, and extremely cold underwater conditions can slow or halt decomposition, limiting the scent on the water’s surface. When conditions are right, using dogs can cut down search time tremendously.
Training of search and rescue dogs to perform underwater searches has been advanced by recently developed chemicals that simulate the odor of cadavers. Previously, human body parts had been used to train dogs; that method had to be discontinued due to AIDS.
For Hershe, a boisterous 3-year-old, a successful find means a reward: a round of Frisbee toss with his handler. For the human handlers, it means ending a family’s unbearable uncertainty. And for the investigator or claims handler, it means the claim can progress toward closure.
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