Sorry to make so many comments in order... I'm here by myself at the moment!
I wanted to give some information in regard to the HRD dogs in regard to people's theory that there might be an ancient burial site under the lake. The likelihood of HRD dogs hitting on bones buried deep in the lake for over a century is virtually impossible. There are only a few dogs in the world who have been trained to detect Historical Human Remains. There is only
one dog that has ever been tested, and confirmed as finding bone fragments that are over 175 years old - and that dog is in Australia. That dog was specifically trained since she was a puppy with known archaeological remains, and at old cemeteries. HHRD (Historical Human Remains Detection) is in its infancy as a science, and in regard to training, etc... It is a much more specific training than your "average" cadaver dogs.
The fact is, they don't even understand what the HHRD dogs are actually smelling as they are hitting on bone fragments and teeth, and not even some remnant of decomp fluids which have long since been erased by time, and other processes in the soil.
Also, please note that even among HRD dogs only some are trained to work in the water. It's a specialized training vs. using a dog on land. I have not been able to find an HHRD dog that has worked anywhere but on land, either.
So, for all of these dogs to be hitting on the lake, the likelihood of them hitting on some ancient burial ground covered by water for the last 70 years, and that would likely have been buried some 200+ years ago, is infinitesimal. It would truly be something so amazing that universities and archaeologists all across the world would be shocked about.
From reading the how's of what these HHRD dogs find these remains, they wouldn't be able to use these techniques in water at all. They have to actually have their noses at the ground to even smell whatever it is they are trying to detect (again, it's not decomp gases and fluids - it's something in the bones and teeth themselves).
For the HRD dogs to be hitting continually in this lake right now indicates there is fresh decomposition going on. There is truly no other explanation.
(Personally, I doubt the scent is coming from a tributary, but I do think the wind, and current may be preventing them from accurately pinpointing the source.)
Here are a couple links in regard to HHRD dogs. Again, these dogs are trained differently from "regular" HRD or cadaver dogs. They must be trained
specifically to detect historical remains as the scent that HRD dogs usually hit on would no longer exist.
Migaloo the dog has a nose for archeology
http://www.news.com.au/national-new...e-for-archeology/story-fndo4ckr-1226463394595
K-9forensic.org FAQ page about the different classifications of search dogs:
http://www.k9forensic.org/faq.html
Some of the above is MOO! Most comes from the research and articles I've read about HHRD dogs - two of which are linked above.
:cow:
