King County Search Dogs

September and October 2004

September 2-3, 2004
04-ES-057
Seattle
1400 start for planned cadaver search. We responded with four cadaver teams, 7 personnel total. SPD requested our assistance with an active homicide investigation to search portions of Carkeek Park in NW Seattle. They had an informant who reported participating in a murder at a nearby motel, with the body being dumped in Carkeek in Feb 04. The body was said to have been dumped in one location and then moved to another location. The crime scene technicians were working the original dump site the first day and were gone the second day. The first day we searched an identified area on the south side of the park as well as along the trail following Piper's Creek. The second day, Hylee and Boston both did their trained indications in the area where the body was dumped the first time. After searching several areas in the park that matched the general description given by the informant, we suspended the search with negative results. (59 hrs)

September 4, 2004
04-xxx
Garfield Mtn.
0600 callout for missing hiker. Our OL called in but we were turned around prior to notifying teams. (1 hr)

September 4, 2004
04-2337
Tiger Mtn
1630 callout for injured horseback rider on South Tiger Mtn. Two of our members stopped by as they lived in the area and hiked this part of the mountain a great deal. The base folks were unaware of the access routes. While this was occuring, MAST arrived, having been called by Eastside Fire/Rescue. As MAST was hovering in the area, the rotor wash knocked over a tree, striking the RP, and breaking his leg. One our folks was sent in to assist. The extrication followed one of the roads identified and was uneventful. (6 hrs)

September 8, 2004
04-2180
Snohomish
0800 start for continuation of the planned cadaver search in Snohomish. We responded with three cadaver teams, 4 personnel total. The teams worked up and down river from the previous finds. Although the teams showed interest in certain areas, no indications were identified by the handlers. The divers located more of the subject during this search. (36 hrs)

October 8, 2004
04-2609
Renton
2000 callout for missing 28 yo male. We responded with two trailing and five airscent teams, 13 personnel total. The subject was a mentally handicapped person on a day trip to an activity center. When he did not return to his care facility on an Access bus, the sheriff was notified (around 1430 hrs). A difficult search because the SAR deputies were unable to talk directly to the caregivers who last saw the subject. While airscent teams were contacting open businesses and searching the obvious areas near the PLS, we ran two trailing teams from the PLS. Both trailing teams identified that the subject left the facility and the trail ended near a bus stop. We were notified at 2355 hrs that the subject was located in Kent, approximately 4 miles south. The description we had of the subject was not accurate and the subject could not tell us how he got to Kent. (62 hrs)

October 10, 2004
04-2630
Redmond
1300 callout for speculative search at vehicular accident. OL: 2. Trailing: 4. Airscent: 2, 9, 11, 13. Support: 6, 25. KCSO requested that we search the area where a vehicle went off a road to verify a passenger was not in the car. We searched the area and attempted a trail from the vehicle and had no finds. The driver had been in the car for 8 days and was located, alive, earlier in the day. (36 hrs)

Click to continue to November and December 2004 missions.