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By
MARY CALLAHAN The graves are thought to be well over 100 years old,
forgotten over time, unclaimed and uncelebrated. The canine foursome - as well as several others still in training - were brought to Santa Rosa by the Woodside-based Institute for Canine Forensics, which trains and deploys Human Remain Detection Dog teams... |
The ICF
Historical Human Remains Detection Dog teams are searching to identify
the location of unmarked graves in The Pascual Marquez Family Cemetery,
located in Santa Monica Canyon, California. (PLAY VIDEO - 22 minutes) |
Institute for Canine Forensics dog trainer on Czech Radio 25/2009: Vyčmuchaná minulost. O využití psů při hledání historických lidských ostatků, například v archeologii, hovoří výcviková instruktorka Eva Cecil...
Planetarium's editor Frederik Velinsky asked Eva many questions, but concentrated mainly on usage, activities, projects and training of HRD and HHRD Institute's dogs. Frederik and Eva discussed some historical projects on which the Eva/Nessie ICF team participated in the Czech Republic and California. Czech
Radio - website article |
K9’s Search for Historic Human Remains at Future Expansion Area for Tuolumne Cemetery Story and photos by Thomas Atkins On the sunny Saturday morning of March 14th, seven members of the Historical Grave Detection Group (HGDG) gathered at Carter’s Cemetery on the hill above Tuolumne to investigate the proposed 4.5 acres designated for the expansion of the cemetery. Equipped with GPS devices, walkie-talkies, flags and notepads, the crew, who had been hired by the cemetery board of directors to search for potential unmarked burials on the recently purchased property, was ready for the hunt. However, this quest would be impossible without the help of their sidekicks – highly trained Historical Human Remains Detection (HHRD) dogs. With noses to the ground, these furry, four-legged friends would be the ones conducting the investigation... |
Saratoga woman and her dog, Sweep, are there when they're needed By
Marianne L. Hamilton The
World Trade Center. The Columbia Space Shuttle disaster. The terrorist
bombing in Oklahoma City. |
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There are hundreds of search and rescue dogs throughout United States, many cross-trained to find live or deceased humans. Less common are dogs trained for only human remains detection, California has only about 10. The historical human remains detection dog (HHRD), the newest in the evolution of specialized dogs number less that 12 in the world. Czech archaeologist George Vavra gave a new name to this profession: "Anthropocynology." This article is a compilation of HHRD training and searches, published in "Psi Kusy", November 2008 Issue 10, the Czech language dog magazine. |
Hawthorne Chinese Cemetery, May 3, 2008
The
location of this cemetery was "lost" over time. Only recently
was the general vicinity of its location identified. The Mineral County
Fair & Recreation Commission and the Horseman’s Association
are in the process of designing a new fairgrounds and equestrian center.
A portion of the land received from the County Commissioners for this
purpose contains the Hawthorne Chinese Cemetery. |
Is
Forensic Science Going to the Dogs? When it comes to cold cases, few are hotter than those associated with the notorious Barker Ranch, the last hideout of the Charles Manson Family before their arrest in October 1969, following a fierce Los Angeles murder spree... |
A
nose for forensics: Local canine group brings closure in cases of tragedy
Los Altos Police Detective John Korges and his dog, Karson, prepare for forensic search practice in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Karson is training for certification as a human-remains detection dog with the Santa Clara County Sheriffs Department. On a sunny afternoon last month, a group of local dog owners and their canines converged at a tree farm off Highway 17 with some unexpected training tools. In addition to liver treats and tennis balls, they brought human teeth and bones and vials of donated blood. The dogs were alert as they waited together in the grass, sharp-eyed collies and shepherds, with a rottweiler and a Doberman pinscher in the mix... |
Part
3: Inside, Outside, Frontside, Backside In
this (Part 3) installment of the series I would like to present the
preliminary results from a recent survey of the Chapel and cemetery
area by Historic Human Remains Detection Dogs (HHRD) from the Institute
for Canine Forensics (ICF). I will also present the results of additional
archival research that may shed some Inside,
Outside, Frontside, Backside: Where Was The Santa Barbara Presidio Cemetery |
 DOG
DAYS AT THE SANTA BARBARA PRESIDIO (Full story by Robert L. Hoover) On Sunday, September 7, 2008, the Santa Barbara Presidio will be visited by several four-footed graduates of the Institute for Canine Forensics. For some time, the Institute has been sending out teams of these specially trained dogs to help officials search for long-missing persons at such places as the World Trade Center in New York, the site of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the Loma Prieta and Mexico City Earthquakes, the Oakland Firestorm, and the Oklahoma City bombing site. But, the use of these remarkable human remains detection (HRD) dogs has become very specialized and is one of the most promising recent tools available to archaeologists. HRD dogs trained specifically to locate historical bodies have assisted scientists identifying the Donner Camp at Alder Creek, cemetery plots on Pilot Hill in Truckee, at Half Moon Bay, and the El Dorado Hills, all in California. They also identified a mass grave from the 1815 Napoleonic Wars in the Czech republic. Working with Professor Russ Skowronek, they are helping to identify burials in the Mission Santa Clara cemetery. (PLAY VIDEO - 31 minutes) Articles from the La Campana, Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation: |
WWII Dive-bomber CrashIn January 1944, a squadron of Dauntless dive-bombers was on a training flight near Watsonville. At 10,000', one of the planes developed mechanical problems, caught on fire and crashed south of the Pajaro River. The Navy reported that the bodies of the two crew members were recovered. However, crash investigations during WWII were cursory due to the large number of crashes during training missions. Pacific Legacy engaged the Institute for Canine Forensics to bring in dogs certified to find historical human remains to look for the remains of the pilot and the gunner... |
This article is in Czech language; it is from a dog magazine "Psi Kusy", February 2008, Issue 2. |
| Forensic
Dogs Help Preserve Native American Burial Grounds Tom Mills determined that using search dogs for this project would be cost-effective and, most importantly, leave the area undisturbed. Four dogs and their individual handlers from the Institute for Canine Forensics joined with Caltrans staff in May to systematically check the area. Handlers watched as each dog searched the area separately. When a dog "alerted to a scent," identifying a gravesite area, a small flag was placed at the location. The flags were removed before the next dog searched the same area. All four dogs separately identified the same 13 sites during the eight hours the team worked. The areas identified by the team, where some blue and red glass beads were found, were larger than Caltrans staff had anticipated... |
 Digging
up the past in PeruIn 40C heat, a non-governmental organization, the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF), scours the ground next to the still-operational military base. Helping them are North American handlers with dogs that have been specially trained to sniff out human remains. ICF
Peru Team Report |
In
archaeology, an HHRD trained canine with impeccable manners, slow and
methodical search style, properly trained and certified, may be the
Remote Sensing Tool of the future. ICF canine trainers are "writing
the book" in this field. Certification standards are high insuring
that the ICF certified canines are reliable, non-invasive tools to be
used in modern archaeology. |
| Canines
help Caltrans locate burial sites near Lone Pine When state officials recently sought help in locating a sacred Native American burial ground, they turned to an unlikely source: man’s best friend... |
| Olancha
/ Cartago On May 11 & 12, 2007 teams from Institute for Canine Forensics (ICF) joined a Caltrans archaeologist to determine if a cemetery might be located within the general area identified by the Native American family member |
 Clarksville
Cemetery - EAGLE SCOUT PROJECTDecember 2006 - ICF Historical HRD dogs were requested to work an open field area for unmarked graves and boundaries |
| Prehistoric
Native American Remains at NASA A construction crew has unearthed the skeletal remains - April 2006 |
| Society
for California Archaeology Annual Meeting in Ventura, CA - March 30, 2006 |
| Canine
Remote Sensing Detection - The Bayley Project Paper presented by Shirley Hammond at the Society for Historical Archaeology Annual Conference, Sacramento, California, January 11 – 15, 2006 |
| CANINE
TRAINING: HISTORICAL versus CADAVER Paper presented by Bev Peabody at the Society for Historical Archaeology Annual Conference, Sacramento, California, January 11 – 15, 2006 |
"Is
there a human signature in ancient bones that a trained canine can recognize?"Paper presented by Eva Cecil and Heidi Hill of University of Montana at the Society for Historical Archaeology Annual Conference, Sacramento, California, January 11 – 15, 2006 A Noninvasive Method of Searching for Buried Human Remains "LOLO's Lost Grave" - Paper presented by Eva Cecil at the Society for Historical Archaeology Annual Conference, Sacramento, California, January 11 – 15, 2006 LoLo’s Grave, Lewis & Clark Trail, Montana Researchers investigate using ICF dogs to find long-lost grave (2005) - The group was led by two tongue-lolling border collies named Nessie and Rhea. Their mission: sniff out the 150-year-old grave of the mountain man for whom the trail was named. |
| Evolution
of the Historical Human Remains Detection Dog Choosing the Best Resource - Paper presented by Adela Morris & Donna Randolph at the Society for Historical Archaeology Annual Conference, Sacramento, California, January 11 – 15, 2006 |
| Above
ground noninvasive technique to locate human remains and historical graves:
The nose knows Paper presented by Adela Morris at the Society for Historical Archaeology Annual Conference, Sacramento, California, January 11 – 15, 2006 |
Bayley
HouseThe Institute for Canine Forensic teams were called in to search a vast area surrounding the Bayley House to help locate the lost and unmarked Bayley family burial plot on the property. It has been a bit of a mystery to where Bayleys are actually buried, although it is known that they are buried somewhere on the property. Mr. Bayley's wish was to be placed to rest under the trees, on a grassy knoll, overlooking the house he so proudly built. ICF teams were called to locate the long-forgotten Bayley family burial plot on the property (1/2005) (PLAY VIDEO - 15 minutes) |
 El
Dorado Rock MoundsICF teams, using specially trained HRD dogs, search for long-forgotten American Indian and Chinese graves under rock mounds on private land. The El Dorado House and Ranch was established in June of 1850. Documents show that the following December one of the owners of the roadhouse, George Richardson died. It is believed that the cemetery was established at that time was used from 1850 until 1905. (PLAY VIDEO - 6 minutes) |
 Donner
Party Campsite Archaeological Dig George Donner, Jacob Donner, James F. Reed and their families left Springfield, Illinois, on April 15, 1846. They planned to settle in California, claim free land and start a new life. By the time they reached the California mountains the party numbered 81 people in 23 wagons. Early winter prevented them from reaching their destiny. Only 40 people survived this tragic ordeal.excavation results, summer 2004. Donner Party Campsite Search The camp at Alder Creek was thought to be the place where George Donner and his family camped in the winter of 1846. Actually, two possible locations at Alder Creek were thought to be where the camps were located, but no evidence was ever found. Alder Creek camp is approx. 6 miles North from where the rest of the Donner Party camped (at what is now Donner Lake.) Archaeologists found a new campsite evidence. (PLAY VIDEO - 14 minutes) |
 Town
of BocaHelping US Forest Service to restore the old cemetery, ICF team delineating the boundaries of the historical cemetery in town site of Boca, located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Truckee, California. Starting in 1866, the Central Pacific Railroad was laying tracks over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. A construction camp was set up at the junction of the Truckee River and Little Truckee River, and soon become known as Boca, "mouth" in Spanish. (PLAY VIDEO - 8 minutes) |
| Case
Study of Battlefield Burials The battlefield burials are dated from 1200 to 1600 AD at a site near Prague, Czech Republic - Presented at SWAA 2004 by Eva Cecil |
 Camp
Richardson Washoe CemeteryThe US Forest Service requested ICF teams to search the Washoe Cemetery located in the Historical Camp Richardson, South Lake Tahoe, California in order to identify possible unmarked graves in the cemetery and the adjoining campground prior to its refurbishment. (PLAY VIDEO - 17 minutes ) |
| Identifying
The Mission Santa Clara Cemetery
Using Historical Human Remains Detection Dogs - Presented at SWAA 2004 by Bev Peabody |
 Prague-Liboc
Archaeological ExcavationAn HRD dog has a rare opportunity to imprint and search for ancient human skeletal remains discovered by archaeologists and excavated on a Neolithic Age burial site in Prague, Czech Republic. (PLAY VIDEO - 11 minutes) |
| St.
Joseph's Cemetery in Fremont Searching old burial ground for lost graves... |
| San
Mateo County Hospital and Poor Farm Detecting graves from 1800's. The Poor Farm Graveyard was first established in 1894, when the first dead were buried and their names, places of origin, age and the reason for dying were entered into a logbook. Some 542 graves are listed there but we have seen wooden markers with 600’ numerals still legible. A few of the markers are still standing but most were burned, removed or vandalized. Numbers that had been painted on the grave markers have weathered and most have become illegible over the years. |
 A
Nose For Crime"The Doberman Gang" segment A Nose For Crime, produced with our help for Animal Planet by Fleisher Film, Inc. is a documentary that profiles the courageous and amazing efforts of dogs who sniff out evidence in crime scenes. The dogs and their handlers are featured in interview and re-creation segments that were entirely shot in video and processed for final film simulation. (PLAY VIDEO - 17 minutes) |
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Marquez
Family Cemetery - Santa Monica, California 2009 
Our
handler Eva Cecil gave an extended interview to "Cesky Rozhlas"
- the most popular radio station in the Czech Republic. The interview
was conducted for the scientific program Planetarium and covered Institute
for Canine Forensics' mission, activities and projects.
The
purpose of this survey is to attempt to identify the location of unmarked
graves in the Hawthorne Chinese Cemetery and to assist in delineating
an adequate boundary
for the cemetery grounds to be set aside from other potential uses.
Written by Eliza Ridgeway - Town Crier Staff Writer 
The
Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster Memorial - One
year later
Historical
Grave Detection Dogs