EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION IN HUMAN REMAINS DETECTION January 2016 Volume 4, Issue 1 Special points of interest: CANINE SEARCH SOLUTIONS RE- SPONDED TO A TOTAL OF 24 CASES CONGRATS TO ALL THE HANDLERS AND K9 PARTNERS WHO RECEIVED THEIR CERTIFICA- TION THIS YEAR! TWO NEW HANDLERS JOIN CSS!! Inside this issue: New Tool to Use in Searches 2 ARF Fundraiser 2 CSS and MPD Mounted Unit Train Together New MPD K9 Handler Meet the newest K9 Teams K9 Gildon Remembered New Handlers Join CSS 3 3 4 5 6 BODA 2015 CSS Search Efforts Canine Search Solutions teams responded to a total of 24 cases this year. This included 20 new searches and 4 older cases that were revisited. Cases this year took us to Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, and South Carolina. All Law Enforcement handlers made the long trek to Beaumont, TX for their NNDDA certification. My little Boda was a black and white Treeing Walker Coonhound and Lab mix that I was so blessed to find at the Sioux Falls Humane Society in 2006. At six months of age, he was ready to work as soon as I brought him home. His love for people was evident in his ever present wagging tail that shook his entire body, along with his ability to track people. He was truly a special dog. I am deeply thankful for the eight years I had with Boda and the utter privilege and honor it was to walk fifteen steps behind him on tracks. One of his best known tracks was on the first day We are excited to have the added tool of a scent specific trailing dog. K9 Talia assisted on her first search of a missing/suicidal person. The track was four days old and the information K9 Talia provided was accurate to where the person was eventually located. In addition to our ongoing commitment to the missing, each year we make a concerted effort to continue working cold or old cases. We maintain the belief that if we continue Remembering Boda By Sandra Vernlund to search, additional information can reveal itself. of college (SDSU) here in Brookings, SD. An armed thief had driven a stolen car into a tree on campus and taken off on foot. Boda circled around the vehicle before taking off strongly in one direction, towards an area where about twenty police officers were already on scene. It seemed Boda was approaching the suspect s friend s house. After more LE discussion, they wanted Boda to confirm that the suspect was going to this house. I put Boda back on track and he took off again, made a turn around some bushes and up the driveway. Turning up the right driveway was confirmation enough for law enforcement. Boda received lots of love and attention from LE, DCI officers and me. Boda had a blast with the track and with all the attention afterward. I lost Boda to a terrible accident last spring and I still miss him every day. My new Treeing Walker Coonhound Dooley reminds me of Boda often. Boda must have passed on his tracking ability and watches over Dooley when we are tracking, because it feels very comfortable and familiar just as if I were still walking fifteen steps behind Boda. Rest in peace, Boda.
Page 2 WLECHA Meritorious K9 Tracks of The Year Officer Carren Corcoran with her partner K9 Slim and Officer Rose Mansavage with K9 Falko each tracked suspects on separate robbery cases. However, both turned out to be related. The suspect, a former Wisconsin Badger football standout and his brother, robbed local businesses on different days. Both businesses were located downtown where there is a high volume of pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Both handlers used only the area where the suspect had stood for the specific scent. Both tracks ended in a different parking lot, with the dogs providing a car pick up indication. Later on, video footage captured the suspect vehicle in each parking lot. This case highlights these amazing dogs capabilities when tracking people. Both K9s were awarded the WLECHA Meritorious Tracking Award. Left: K9 Falko and Officer Rose Mansavage Right: K9 Slim and Officer Carren Corcoran Way to go, K9 Slim and K9 Falko!! MEET TALIA To learn more about Kevin Kocher s tracking method, visit his web site: www.inbti.com Talia is the newest tool to be utilized by CSS, and she is not trained to find human remains! In fact, Talia is a scent specific trailing dog, handled by Wade Gummin of the Madison Police Dept. Over time, we have come to realize that some cases are quite fresh, meaning persons may only be presumed dead for a short period of time. In those cases, scent specific trailing dogs can provide vital information of where a person may have traveled. Talia has been trained using Kevin Kocher s method, and Carren Corcoran has guided Wade and Talia through that process. Carren holds a special place for Talia because she is also the mother of her new HRD dog, Moxy. Talia is excelling at her job and has already been deployed on cases. In February, Carren Corcoran, Theresa Christ, Alyssa Palmer, and Linda Zapata conducted a presentation about the use of HRD dogs during the heartwrenching Jeannette Zapata case. Those who attended were able to learn about the Zapata case and hear it from Linda s perspective. It was clear that everyone was touched by what Linda had to endure throughout her life regarding her own mother s homicide. This was a very unique opportunity to ARF FUNDRAISER learn both about how the HRD dogs contributed to that case, as well as to other cases throughout Carren s career. Afterwards, there was a meet and greet with some CSS K9s, which was well-received by everyone. Feedback from attendants was very positive, and many expressed that they enjoyed learning about the dogs as well as the Zapata case. All funds raised went to support ARF, a German Shepherd Rescue. Please visit their web site to learn more: www.arfrescue.com
Volume 4, Issue 1 Page 3 CSS and Madison Mounted Unit Training In July of 2015, members of the Madison Police Mounted Unit, Canine Search Solutions cadaver dog handlers, and a scent specific trailing dog conducted a combined training. As a result of the Nejay Redd case, all wanted to improve working relationships utilizing both the dogs and horses as tools in searching for missing persons. The training consisted of desensitizing all the dogs to working near the horses and introducing the odor of human remains to the horses. A track was done using the scent specific trailing dog, with horses flanking the handler. The track was followed by a small mock search, where both dogs and horses worked together to locate human remains. Everyone benefited from the afternoon and another training will be scheduled in 2016. Interested in learning more about Madison Police Mounted Unit? Check out their web site: www.madisonmounted.org CSS Handler Selected for New MPD K9 Position Congratulations to Jason Baumgart, who was selected to be the new Madison Police Department K9 Handler. In March 2016, Jason will be sent to Shallow Creek Kennels in Pennsylvania, where he will meet his new partner and begin their training. After 6 weeks of training, Jason will return and continue training with the MPD K9 Unit until they are ready to hit the streets. Jason is very excited about his new venture and is looking forward to being able to work two dogs. Check the CSS website for updates on Jason s new partner. MPD Recognizes Citizens and Officers The Madison Police Department issued several recognition awards to the handlers who assisted in the Nejay Redd Case from 2014. This was extremely important, as both civilians and officers were utilized to solve this missing person case. The following were all recipients of recognition: Theresa Christ, Shelley Rogers; Teri Clyse; Officers Alyssa Palmer, Jason Baumgart, and Carren Corcoran. Thank you for all your hard work! Looking to Donate for a Good Cause? Please consider donating to the following organizations: Capital K9 s www.capitalk9s.org American Belgian Malinois Rescue www.malinoisrescue.org Madison Mounted Horse Patrol www.madisonmounted.org K9 Training Log Books Available for Purchase Sharolyn Sievert of Central Lakes Search and Rescue recently created, K-9 SAR Training Log Book to document your K9 trainings. If interested in purchasing this tool or to see several other books she has authored, check them out on Amazon.com.
Page 4 Eric Peterson of South Dakota retired his long-time partner K9 Eve in 2015 and acquired a new partner, K9 Ninja, a Dutch Shepherd. Eric did a lot of research and selected Ninja from De Las Flores Kennels and is excited to have her as his new working partner. Ninja is doing great and really enjoys her new job. Eric and Ninja plan to certify in 2016. Shelley Rogers, a long time CSS handler, has added another working partner, K9 Piper. Piper is a female Golden Retriever who was whelped out of Shelley s other HRD dog, K9 Skyler. Shelley and K9 Piper certified in the fall of 2015 and look forward to searching together! Congratulations everyone with new K9 Partners!! We look forward to working with the new dogs! Keep up the good work Meet the New K9 Teams Sharolyn Sievert of Central Lakes Search and Rescue acquired a new partner that specializes in live finds. K9 Levia is a Rhodesian Ridgeback that loves her job and has already been used to find a person! Sandy Vernlund has two new partners, K9 Dooley, a Treeing Walker Coonhound and K9 Jet, a Belgian Groenendael, which belongs to the Belgian Shepherd dog breeds. Dooley is being trained to be a trailing dog and Jet is specializing in Human Remains detection. Both dogs were rescues and are excelling at their job!! Sandy hopes to certify both sometime in 2016. Teri Clyse and her Golden Retriever/Great Pyrenees cross, K9 Oakley, also certified in the fall of 2015. K9 Oakley joins Teri s working team with her other HRD dog, K9 Fynn. Congratulations, Sgt. Chris Boyd After 24 years of service in the Madison Police Department, Sgt. Chris Boyd retired in 2015. Chris was instrumental in molding the Madison Police K9 Unit. Her skills were often used in several of Canine Search Solutions searches as well as trainings. Even after retirement, Chris plans to continue working dogs. She continues to instruct the Kevin Kocher trailing method and plans to continue in assisting in Canine Search Solutions trainings. Thank you, Chris, for all your dedication and service! Chris is available to consult with for a multitude of dog trainings. She does it all, from obedience, SAR, to Patrol K9 s. Contact her at: K9boyd@gmail.com 608.692.6261
Volume 4, Issue 1 Page 5 K9 GILDON 2006-2015 K9 Gildon was an incredible tracking dog and a steady, quiet, work horse. K9 Gildon served the Madison Police Department for 9 years alongside his partner, Sgt. Jeff Felt. K9 Gildon s joy for the job will be greatly missed. May he rest in peace. Search for Lincoln Hilt Six year old Lincoln Hilt went fishing with his brand new fishing pole on the Missouri River in South Dakota on Easter Sunday. Lincoln was last seen at approximately 7:25pm on the dock over the river. Brookings County SAR were contacted to assist in locating Lincoln. Eric Peterson, with K9 Eve, and Sandra Vernlund, with K9 Rowdy, responded to the call to assist. K9 Rowdy began working the waterway, while K9 Eve worked the shoreline. Both dogs gave indications in the same area and the information was conveyed to the search leaders. Due to inclement weather conditions, divers were not able to be utilized that day and responded back on Monday. K9 Rowdy was called to assist again in case there had been a change in area; however, he continued to indicate in the same area. Based on K9 Rowdy and K9 Eve s indications, divers were able to locate Lincoln s body later that day. A sad search, but thankful the dogs could find Lincoln.
Page 6 Introducing New and Upcoming CSS Handlers K9 Zach K9 Phavor Kathleen Kelsey has been a search and rescue handler since 2003 and has worked both live find dogs and cadaver dogs. Kathleen has been a certified handler with FEMA Urban Search and Rescue in Missouri as well as Mclean County EMA. Kathleen brings years of experience having participated in approximately 23 searches all over the United States. Kathleen s partners are K9 Zach, a male German Shepherd, whelped in 2008 and certified in Cadaver through several national organizations. K9 Phavor is a male Labrador Retriever whelped in 2011 and certified in Disaster Live Find through FEMA. And lastly, Kathleen has a new partner in training, K9 Redden, a male Dutch Shepherd whelped in 2015. He will be trained in live finds focusing on disaster work. K9 Redden K9 Kyon Josh Bower has been with the Madison Police Department since 2013 and has been assisting with the K9 Unit. Josh has expressed lots of interest in working his own dog. Josh was able to attend a CSS training day, where everyone was informed that Josh was there to see the dogs work and to get an idea of what breed he wanted as a partner!! Needless to say, he chose the pointy-eared type. Through the help of ARF Rescue, he was able to acquire Kyon, an 18-month-old, male German Shepherd. Kyon has shown great drive and Josh is looking forward to beginning Kyon s training! Canine Search Solutions in 2016 As we look forward to this new year, CSS would like to see all the new dogs get their national certification in order to provide more dogs to the cause. We plan to revisit more old and cold cases of missing persons in the Midwest. These cases will be challenging; however, we believe that if we continue to work them, we might be able to bring someone s loved one home. CSS will be conducting a fundraiser for the Law Enforcement United Madison Police team in March 2016, check the web site for further information. www.caninesearchsolutions.com A huge thank you to all who have supported and continue to support Canine Search Solutions.