Canine Search Solutions in 2016

Canine Search Solutions
EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION IN HUMAN REMAINS DETECTION
January 2016
Special points of
interest:
 CANINE SEARCH
SOLUTIONS RESPONDED TO A
TOTAL OF 24
CASES
 CONGRATS TO ALL
THE HANDLERS
AND K9 PARTNERS
WHO RECEIVED
THEIR CERTIFICATION THIS YEAR!
 TWO NEW
HANDLERS JOIN
CSS!!
Volume 4, Issue 1
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.
We are excited to have the
added tool of a scent spe-
cific 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.
to search, additional information can reveal itself.
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
Inside this issue:
New Tool to Use in
Searches
2
ARF Fundraiser
2
CSS and MPD
Mounted Unit Train
Together
3
New MPD
K9 Handler
3
Meet the newest
K9 Teams
4
K9 Gildon
Remembered
5
New Handlers
Join CSS
6
Remembering Boda
By Sandra Vernlund
BODA
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
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 en-
forcement. 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
Canine Search Solutions
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.
ARF FUNDRAISER
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
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
Page 3
Volume 4, Issue 1
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.
Interested in learning more about Madison Police
Mounted Unit?
Check out their web site:
www.madisonmounted.org
Everyone benefited from the afternoon and
another training will be scheduled in 2016.
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
Canine Search Solutions
Meet the New K9 Teams
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!
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.
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!
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 everyone
with new K9 Partners!!
We look forward to working
with the new dogs!
Keep up the good work
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:
[email protected]
608.692.6261
Page 5
Volume 4, Issue 1
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.
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.
Brookings County SAR were
contacted to assist in locating
Lincoln. Eric Peterson, with K9
Eve, and Sandra Vernlund, with
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
Canine Search Solutions
Introducing New and Upcoming
CSS Handlers
K9 Zach
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 Phavor
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.