Experienced Searchers Educate Us: Do's & Dont's of Recovery Searching

BondJamesBond

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I thought it would be interesting to get an education from some of the more experienced recovery searchers here...some seasoned vets.

I'd really like to hear some detailed lessons of experience. What to do & not do when searching.

For example, during a search you locate a black plastic bag and odor. You want to preserve the discovery area for evidence, but, you don't want to raise false alarms. Do you cut open the bag w/ latex gloves on? This would allow any flies to escape, hence, losing valuable forensic evidence. Simple details like this would be interesting, IMHO.

Obviously, I haven't spent much time watching CSI shows, but, I'm betting the real stories WS can relay would be a much more meaningful & helpful education.

Sooooo....let's hear it.

And if you don't mind...please open your post with something to explain what your experience/background in searching might be (e.g. volunteer/professional, # years in searching, ever involved in finds, cadaver-dog use, etc.)

TIA!
 
From what I have been taught, if you were to find a black plastic bag issuing a suspicious odor, you don't cut it open regardless of what you are wearing. In fact, once you discover a burial site of any type you stop when you realize that it is in fact a burial site. No further digging, no taking anything out of the hole, you just call LE and wait.
There was a search here, years ago. We discovered an obvious grave site in the woods, heavily sidturbed ground, all mounded up in top of something. About a dozen searchers, vets some of them, lost their heads, fell to their knees and just started digging barehanded. Needless to say, when Kim and Candace, our team leaders, showed up, they were blasted a new one. There is a fine line between discovering and potentially destroying evidence.

ETA: 12 years searching, volunteer, searched with private parties, FBI and Local LE. Have been involved in 1 find, thankfully only one, and never used dogs although I have co owned/sponsored a multipuropse search/rescue dog. (RIP Max E. Pad.)
 
From what I have been taught, if you were to find a black plastic bag issuing a suspicious odor, you don't cut it open regardless of what you are wearing. In fact, once you discover a burial site of any type you stop when you realize that it is in fact a burial site. No further digging, no taking anything out of the hole, you just call LE and wait.
There was a search here, years ago. We discovered an obvious grave site in the woods, heavily sidturbed ground, all mounded up in top of something. About a dozen searchers, vets some of them, lost their heads, fell to their knees and just started digging barehanded. Needless to say, when Kim and Candace, our team leaders, showed up, they were blasted a new one. There is a fine line between discovering and potentially destroying evidence.

ETA: 12 years searching, volunteer, searched with private parties, FBI and Local LE. Have been involved in 1 find, thankfully only one, and never used dogs although I have co owned/sponsored a multipuropse search/rescue dog. (RIP Max E. Pad.)

very good info esp if you are out searching on your own.
 
Here's a great link a fellow WS-er posted a little while back. My trip to Orlando was my first time searching, but I plan to learn as much as I can (I feel like I learned A LOT in my 2 days of searching) so that I can participate in the future.
Note: the "reference" section of this site has some really interesting information.
http://www.sarti.us/sarti/index.php
 
~snipped
ETA: 12 years searching, volunteer, searched with private parties, FBI and Local LE. Have been involved in 1 find, thankfully only one, and never used dogs although I have co owned/sponsored a multipuropse search/rescue dog. (RIP Max E. Pad.)

O/T- the name of the dog made me laugh! :crazy:
 
ETA: 11 years volunteer firefighting, searched with private parties, Sheriff and Local LE. Have been involved in several searches, found evidence, used dogs (cadaver) & search/rescue.

Stay focused, do not talk during search. Any bag with an odor even if half buried, you can determine the smell just by getting close to it. If it's suspicious, you call and wait for LE. They will do the rest. You do not dig! They will bring the dog and decide whether or not to dig.

If looking for a grave, you take notice of any soil that is depressed in the area with no vegetation growing around it. Once soil is returned to a grave, it settles more easily than any of the soil around it. Also, vegetation make take on a very different color or look more like moss. Just a couple of things you would look for.
 
Here's a great link a fellow WS-er posted a little while back. My trip to Orlando was my first time searching, but I plan to learn as much as I can (I feel like I learned A LOT in my 2 days of searching) so that I can participate in the future.
Note: the "reference" section of this site has some really interesting information.
http://www.sarti.us/sarti/index.php

Thanks for the link, EmMomma! An incredible amount of relevant information there.

I found the section entitled, "Movement of a Body by Human Intervention:" on page 21 of the following particularly interesting and relevant to this case: http://www.sarti.us/sarti/files/SearchForHumanRemains.pdf
 
I come from a family filled with LE & one uncle who is an FBI agent. I work in the medical field, have had to take lots of A&P.

The search I did with TES was my first search. Because our search was small, just a core group from Tx & a core group from Orlando, my family & the relatives of the missing, I felt we got out standing teaching from Odie, Tim, John, Todd & others.

We were in the woods & had a lot of leaf cover. They taught us to very gently brush aside the leaves so we would not move any bones or other items with the leaves. We ran across a lot of mounds. We marked them & called for Tim, Odie, John or Todd to come ck the mounds. They did so by poking with a search stick or even a way longer thing that sort of looks like a pitch fork but is used for searching......it will go way deep. The purpose of that is to tell if the ground is somewhat soft, if you hit something hard or if you hit more like tree roots. They also showed us how looking for an animal hole, like a racoon hole could tell you a lot about a mound. When we found mounds created by large tree roots they showed us how that sounded, harder than the dirt, but also kind of hollow sounding.

We came across bunches & bunches of garbage bags. The first mound or garage bag you see in woods you are thinking "oh my God, oh my God."

We were taught to pick NOTHING & I mean NOTHING up as it could be a crime scene.

We were taught to do a line search vs we need everyone in a certain area to walk the entire area. In the woods you can't do a line search, in the cotton field you can.

We were taught how to search some abandoned homes & old tobacco or farm sheds. We were taught to get the owners permission before searching their property.

We were taught how to mark our way out of the woods by breaking twigs. We had no cell reception so this was important to be able to not only find your way out, but to help a team lead find their way in to look at something you marked. It would also help someone locate YOU if you were hurt...lots of steep hills that lead to the bottom of ravines. We were taught to make a lot of noise & talk b/c of the illegal deer hunters. We were taught to rely on the sound of a whistle for communication. It either meant come out & re group or it meant for all searchers to converge on an area.

I learned a lot of things. If anyone is interested in learning, I think a small search is a great way as it enables the experts to really really spend some quality time teaching. In a small search they have to teach you really well because you don't have the sheer number of eyeballs out their helping. On the other hand, I know those on the larger search in Orlando was also taught well.

My husband & I came away very confident with the knowledge we gained & feel prepared to do another search.

BTW, TES also has classes in Texas from time to time. I know there is one coming up. I would like to go to one when I return from Europe.
 
Here's a great link a fellow WS-er posted a little while back. My trip to Orlando was my first time searching, but I plan to learn as much as I can (I feel like I learned A LOT in my 2 days of searching) so that I can participate in the future.
Note: the "reference" section of this site has some really interesting information.
http://www.sarti.us/sarti/index.php

Great read, thank you. I had not seen that before.
 
Oh, forgot to mention, there have been times when each group has had a walkie talkie or radio and on just about every search, we have been taught to be very careful with what we say over those radios, as you never know who might be listening. There have been some searches that have been very relaxed and the searchers are included in the planning for the remainder of the search and then there have been some where no one even knows where they are going until they get to the command center that morning.
 
And you are taught NOT to call 911 b/c the media will probably get there before LE if ya do.
 
I continue to be thoroughly impressed w/ the cummulative knowledge & experience of the folks here on WS....thanks for sharing all...exactly what I was looking for!

Also - EmMomma, that SARTI resources is terrific. I buried a pet in October and posted here w/ some info about the process (http://websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2780930&postcount=445). Something I noted recently, even after over a month has elapsed, is the obvious difference in color of the soil around the perimeter of the grave as discussed in the SARTI resource document I linked above.
 
And NEVER to spit or, gross as it sounds, change a tampon or pad on a search as it could contaminate DNA evidence. It sounds like a well duh type of thing, but you would be amazed how many people think its okay to just spit or toss a cigarette butt while they are searching. There was one where we were asked how strong our stomachs were, so they knew whether we might throw up on a crime scene.
 
I continue to be thoroughly impressed w/ the cummulative knowledge & experience of the folks here on WS....thanks for sharing all...exactly what I was looking for!

Also - EmMomma, that SARTI resources is terrific. I buried a pet in October and posted here w/ some info about the process (http://websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2780930&postcount=445). Something I noted recently, even after over a month has elapsed, is the obvious difference in color of the soil around the perimeter of the grave as discussed in the SARTI resource document I linked above.

I love that site! I read there whenever I have a few minutes here and there. Very interesting info there, for sure!
One of the things that they told us to look for (in the case of a clandestine grave) was also mentioned on the SARTI site, which is greenery that is "greener" and appears to be newer growth than what is around it. It makes perfect sense, but not something I would automatically think to look for.
I feel very lucky to have conversed and worked with some of the people I met while in FL, their knowledge and experience was very impressive, and none of them seemed to even realize it. :)
I read your thread, too (sorry you lost your beloved pet :(). Thank you very much for sharing your experience, there is much information that could apply to Caylee, though after visiting the REAL FL (not Sea World, lol) I have my doubts about how brave she would have been to venture into some of the areas we searched. Certainly, though, their back yard is "tame" enough, so who knows?! :waitasec:
And THANKS for starting this thread!
 
This is excellent information, especially the reference on the SARTI website regarding the search for human remains. I was struck by this passage:

The reality is that dead bodies are heavy. They are often deposited in close proximity to easy access or exit points. The disposal is simple, and uses whatever equipment is available. A disposal site is often hastily chosen or, in the case of burial, often very shallow. Alternately, there are instances where the nature of the disposal (under a log, in a ditch covered with leaves) did not offer a great deal of concealment, but the site itself
was rural with little perceived risk of discovery. In general, most do not possess a great deal of knowledge or experience in issues of body disposal and recovery techniques.

The geography of a murder’s activity often corresponds with the “least effort” principle. That is, individuals usually carry out their routine activities within areas close to their zones of comfort. These are often represented as points (or destinations) linked by a series of routes of travel. These often form the mental or lived map of the individual.
I subscribe to the "least effort" principle when it comes to KC.
 
So I just bought a case of firelogs yesterday at the store. I noticed that it weighed 30.7 pounds. I am 45, relatively strong and fit and have to say, weigh more than KC...This was a square box of small size with handles on the sides.

The lady in the store couldn't lift it herself, needed my help - just a tad too heavy for her (she was tiny). I noticed when I was lifting it into my trunk that this was NOT an easy feat and that KC with her manicured claws and prissy self wouldn't have gone far from the trunk with the body.

I can't imagine loading these logs if they had floppy limbs or were in a tall bag, even a suitcase or duffel would have been very awkward and heavy. No wonder there was "leakage"...
 
So I just bought a case of firelogs yesterday at the store. I noticed that it weighed 30.7 pounds. I am 45, relatively strong and fit and have to say, weigh more than KC...This was a square box of small size with handles on the sides.

The lady in the store couldn't lift it herself, needed my help - just a tad too heavy for her (she was tiny). I noticed when I was lifting it into my trunk that this was NOT an easy feat and that KC with her manicured claws and prissy self wouldn't have gone far from the trunk with the body.

I can't imagine loading these logs if they had floppy limbs or were in a tall bag, even a suitcase or duffel would have been very awkward and heavy. No wonder there was "leakage"...

I can't see KC lifting Caylee ( deceased) either. I think it would have be difficult to lift her & toss her from a bridge. I do think KC could have dragged her though. I always thought she put her in the dumpster but u do have to lift up what ever it is you are tossing in. I think that also could have been difficult. Makes you think unless she had help she could only have dragged her.
 
I just want to thank ALL of you regardless if you searched for Caylee or not. You all are ANGELS :angel:
 

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