Searchers, dogs train to find submerged bodies

By Patrick Sherman

The Clackamas Review Aug 8, 2006

photo by PATRICK SHERMAN / Clackamas Review

Lopez sniffs out a diver concealed beneath Clackamette Cove.

When the worst happens, it is the difficult task of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team to recover the submerged body of a drowning victim.

But with visibility in most lakes and rivers limited to an inch or two, an extensive underwater search is almost impossible.

To help narrow the search area, CCSO turns to the Oregon K-9 Search Team and its cadaver-sniffing dogs. While dogs have long been used by law enforcement to track suspects and conduct search-and-rescue operations on dry land, the animals can even help locate a submerged body — according to Deb Walker, the organization’s president.

“If there is a body underwater, it’s going to give off all sorts of scents and gasses that float to the surface,” she said. “Dogs have very sensitive noses, and they react to that. Each dog is a little different, but typically you’ll see them arching their back, with their head hung over the edge of the boat.”

During a search, the boat moves perpendicular to the prevailing wind, while the dog’s handler watches for the sometimes subtle cues given off by the animal. The goal is to define a “cone” downwind from the source of the scent, which points to the likely location of the body.

“The boat actually acts like the dog’s legs,” said Walker. “You move to where the dog is pointing — basically, you are following the dog’s nose.

“It takes a lot of training, for the humans and the dogs. The human has to learn to read the dog, and to understand the wind currents and the water currents. For the dog, it’s a question of teaching them that there is something fun under the water.”

During a training exercise held July 24 in Clackamette Cove, divers from the sheriff’s office dive team played the part of the cadaver, surfacing to reward the dog at the conclusion of a successful search.

“You give the diver the dog’s favorite toy, or a treat, and they play for a few minutes,” Walker explained. “The whole reason that the dogs do this is because it’s fun.”

Scott Lee and his dog, Lopez, were among the participants in last week’s training.

“I’ve always been interested in this type of work,” said Lee. “After I got Lopez, I thought it would be good for him to have a job — he was going to be a service dog for the blind, but he flunked out of it.

“This seemed like a good place to direct his energies — he got a good career change.”

The Oregon K-9 Search Team is a private, non-profit group that works with law enforcement to conduct searches both on land and water.

“We were founded in 2002,” said Walker. “We’re all volunteers, and most of our people have prior experience in search and rescue. It pretty much takes up all your free time — you have to have a family, a lifestyle and budget that supports doing this type of work.”

She estimated that members pay between $1,500 and $5,000 a year to participate.

“It’s a weird thing, actually, but the dogs love it,” she said.