For Writers

KN, p. 222 “Underwater Evidence and Body Recovery: Lakes and Bodies of Water”

 

Warning: article contains details about dead bodies.

Crime scene tape has been posted around your favorite big pond or lake and nobody can get on/in the water until it has been searched. What has happened? Perhaps a body has been sighted underwater by a swimmer, or a fisherman has snagged something suspicious on his hook. A violent crime may have been committed in the area and the police are looking for discarded weapon(s). Or a report has come in to the police station about a missing person, and that missing person may have been seen in the vicinity of the water. Law enforcement is already on the case and if the crime scene tape is up, along with officers conducting an investigation, then a dive team is most likely working your formerly peaceful spot.

 

The USA has a great many lakes and assorted other bodies of water, both natural and man-made. Just a few examples:
 

Alaska: over 3,000,000 lakes (yes, 3 million)

Minnesota: 10,000 lakes (it’s even written on the license plates)

New Jersey: 366 named ponds, lakes, and lagoons

North Carolina: 78 named lakes as well as several bays, sounds, and hundreds of ponds.

Texas: over 200 large lakes and reservoirs.

 

When that many bodies of water are part of the landscape, it makes sense that the Sheriff’s Department (County law enforcement) and First Responders have teams that specialize in underwater evidence and body recovery. Why the Sheriff’s Department? It’s not about deep pockets financing the operations, it’s all about jurisdiction and best use of available resources. Many large lakes cross town lines, and the Sheriff’s Department has jurisdiction in all the towns in its County. No need to duplicate personnel, when prevailing thought is that one or two teams per County will be able to handle the job of underwater evidence and body recovery.

 

Note: the local Fire Department usually has a First Responder team on the site of any accident – they are trained for rescue. At some point, it will be determined whether it is a recovery or a rescue and/or if there is a need to preserve evidence. It’s usually a recovery rather than a rescue at a lake, because after a person spends ten minutes under the water without air, it becomes a recovery operation.

 

Are there enough on-the-water deaths to make certified-for-recovery dive teams necessary? Sadly, yes. The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project tracks those stats for the five biggest USA lakes. There were 99 deaths reported in 2016, 88 in 2017, and as of this writing, 47 so far in 2018 in the Great Lakes alone. North Carolina has reported 10 lake deaths so far in 2018.

 

Most of the time, the lake deaths are accidental, but on occasion, bodies are found because of a homicide.

 

A body will float after 72 hours, and continue to float for a couple of days. After that, the naturally occurring body gas is expelled and it will sink again. Bodies are often found fairly quickly, but a body gets like jelly if it’s been in the water for a while, complicating the collection process.

 

Cold water will preserve a body, and warm water will cause more rapid decay, so divers must work carefully in the warmer locales. Cadaver dogs can pinpoint the location of a body to speed up the work. It’s been discovered that the longer the body is in the water, the wider the smell arc for the dogs. It’s a little like a dead fish smell, more concentrated closer to the body.

 

If no cadaver dogs are available, the divers swim in ever bigger arcs from the chosen starting point onshore and they work in grid patterns. If the search area is large enough, one of the onshore/on boat team members keeps a map/record of the searched areas.

 

In general, when working in shallow water, the investigation and recovery can be accomplished by dive teams alone. In deeper water, it will be a combination of boats and dive teams that do the search and recovery.

 

Most dive teams have the same equipment. They dive with aluminum scuba tanks and 3200 pounds of air will last about an hour. The basic dive suit is worn for warmth and protection – below 10 feet, it’s cold, no matter what the weather is up top. They also have hazmat suits to dive with in toxic environments.

 

Buoys are color-coded and are released to show when the diver(s) need help or when marking the spot.

 

With the smallest team of 3 people, there are:

  • Diver
  • Safety diver
  • Surface tender

 

With a team of 11 people, at any given time, there are five people in the water.

 

It is protocol to always keep one diver on the surface, ready to assist under water or switch places with the diver already in the water. The “tender” stays on the surface (whether in a boat or on the shore) and directs the search using a rope. The tender signals by tugs; he/she lets the rope play out, and then gives more when needed.

 

The “tender” not only controls the line and the search pattern, but keeps track of the air time and the clock time on a log, which becomes the official record of the diver/search activity. If there is a new diver on the team, the tender tracks to see the average air use, an important stat to have when making sure a sufficient supply of air tanks is on hand for each team member. The tender can estimate the time/air left in the tanks in use after observing the previous pattern of intake by the newbie.

 

After spending time in the water, the divers will be dehydrated, another thing the tender keeps track of.

 

 

Stay tuned for Part 2: “Searches.”

*Photos taken by Patti Phillips at two Writers’ Police Academy events in North Carolina. Many thanks to Lee Lofland for organizing the annual events, and to the members of the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department for their informative presentations.

 

 

 

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KN, p. 221 “The Stokes Basket Rescue Method”

If there are no paragraph separations in this article, please double-click on the title to create a more readable version.

A Stokes basket is a metal wire (or plastic) litter used by First Responders in difficult terrain.

 

Originally designed by Charles Francis Stokes, a Navy Surgeon General in the early 20th century, these baskets have been updated to keep pace with our changing requirements. Once used primarily in mountainous areas with transport occurring on the backs of donkeys and horses, the appearance of helicopters on the historical scene expanded the ways in which rescues could be conducted.


After the person’s immediate first aid needs are tended to, he/she is fastened into the litter, and then the litter can be moved. In my own case, I had a ski accident that included a deeply lacerated arm. I was dripping blood onto the snow, but since I didn’t ordinarily need poles to ski, I thought I could ski down the rest of the mountain to the First Aid Station on my own, holding the injured arm in front of me.


Wiser heads than mine prevailed. The mountain rescue team wrapped my arm, lowered me into a Stokes basket, and strapped me in. I was towed about a half mile across a mogul field by a pair of guys from the Ski Patrol. It was a bumpy ride over that mogul field, but there was no other way to get me down to the waiting ambulance.


I was towed behind skis, but snowmobiles, horses, and ATVs have all been employed to get the injured through the woods or hill country.

 

StokesSuspendedWith specially attached ropes and in limited situations, people can be also be lifted to safety by helicopter. Natural disasters sometimes cut people off from ground transportation, so people have been airlifted out of wildfires or flooded areas without the helicopter ever having to set down. Somebody on the ground helps the injured person get into the basket, attaches it to the pulley system, and then the helicopter takes them to safety. The photo shows the same Stokes basket (with demo dummy) and the single rope leading to the tie-down spot.

 

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The view of the underside of the six-foot Stokes basket reveals the mesh insert that keeps the patient’s limbs from falling through the open steel frame. In addition, the dark blue insert provides some comfort and support to the upper body.

 

Stokes baskets are also used to rescue victims from confined spaces, like caves or collapsed buildings. I recently discovered that some baskets used in surface water rescue have floats attached. If used in mountain rescue, the litters might come with a lid/cover to either protect the person from falling rocks or keep the patient from falling out, should it tip.


Design improvements have included using multiple attachment points, separate hold-down cables, and powered extension hoists. The multiple attachment points can prevent the basket from spinning while being transported by helicopter. Powered hoists can be valuable during steep terrain rescues and/or if there is not enough manpower onsite to do the heavy lifting. The U.S. Navy has used the Stokes basket to transport patients through narrow corridors and doorways.

 

StokesBearClawStokesBrakeBarRackDSC_0111

 

 

 

The close-up shot of the ‘bear claw’ shows the holes at the bottom through which the carabiners and ropes are attached; the other ends secured at the Stokes basket. The ropes attached to the vehicle that supplies the lifting power are secured at the top of the ‘bear claw.’

On the right: the rope is wound through the brake bar rack to more securely anchor the rope to the vehicle. Less slippage occurs with its use.

 

Ropes come in different strengths for different needs, so the ropes are different colors to keep it simple for the rescuers. Because of the incredible demands placed on the ropes (weight, tension, water, scorching heat, and freezing cold) the ropes need to be tested for soundness on a regular basis. Too much weight at any given time can compromise the integrity of the rope, but even with normal wear and tear, they are replaced every few years.

 

Life expectancy of the ropes seen in the photos is about seven years. Somebody’s life depends on that rope not snapping, but even at a cost of about $15.00 per foot, fire departments try to budget for replacement at about the five year point.

 

The type of rescue involving a Stokes basket/lifting with ropes is a low frequency, but high risk operation.

 

On land, firefighters are frequently called upon to handle rescues of this type. At sea, this job falls to the Coast Guard. They have the trucks/helicopters, equipment, and training to ensure the happy ending to an otherwise awful tragedy.

 

 

Photo credits:

Taken by Patti Phillips during a Writers’ Police Academy demonstration in Wisconsin.

 

 

 

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KN, p. 146 “How to Become A Texas Ranger”

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The modern Texas Ranger generally dresses in civilian clothes, and most of them wear a western hat and western boots in the course of their daily activities. Badges, still made from a Mexican peso, are pinned to a Rangers’ shirt above the left pocket. Today’s Rangers travel by car, airplane, helicopter, and sometimes by horse. Each Ranger is furnished an automatic, a 12 gauge shotgun, a semi-automatic rifle, and a crime scene kit (with materials for taking fingerprints and making plaster casts of tracks and tool marks, and other test kits)

Specialized equipment (sniper rifles, night vision scopes, tear gas guns, grenades, black lights, surveillance equipment, and gas masks) are on hand if needed. Their duties vary by assignment, but Rangers still have criminal investigative responsibilities while supporting local law enforcement.

Read “Who are the Texas Rangers?”

Read “What does a Texas Ranger do?”

If you’ve read the previous two articles, you’ve seen what an interesting job the Rangers have. You may even wish you could become one, since there is no maximum age for a potential candidate to apply. Yup, that’s right. If you’re 55 or 60 or even older, have a law enforcement background and can score better than all those young kids applying, the Ranger organization just might take you on. But first, you’d better check out the things you have to do in order to qualify.

First things, first…

Potential Texas Ranger applicants are always selected from the ranks of the Texas Department of Public Safety. There has never been a need to do any recruiting because 200 people often apply for one opening.

Basic Requirements For the DPS Trooper Academy

  • U.S. Citizenship
  • At least 20 years of age to apply and must be 21 years of age upon graduating from the Department’s Trooper Trainee Academy
  • Must have 60 college credits from an accredited college/university or
  • 24 months of Active duty military/full time law officer experience or
  • 24 months of full time work experience with a qualifying Federal Agency or
  • 6 years’ service in the Reserve or National Guard (730 retirement hours)

Only the most competitive candidates get to move on to the entrance testing phase. The written exam is a combination of questions testing 12th grade reading comprehension, grammar/writing skills, and math. Here is a sample of the questions a candidate might see:

If the applicant passes the written test, the next step is the Fitness Test. If you can’t pass this, it knocks you out of consideration. Truthfully, it’s not that different from tests given to military inductees or other law enforcement candidates, but it counts toward your overall ranking with the other applicants.

The minimum standard for the Fitness Test is the 50th percentile or above (according to their age and gender), but if that’s the best you can do, you more than likely will be cut at that point.

The old requirement was a three-event test (abdominal crunches, pushups, and a 1.5 mile run) but the most recent academy required the new recruits to pass the entrance physical readiness test on the Concept2 Rower instead.

Here’s an idea of what a 35 year old applicant would have to do in the three-event test:

  • 48 Crunches in 2 minutes or less.
    45 Push-ups.
    30 minutes or less to complete the 1.5 Mile Run.

If you’re a little older or younger, there was an adjustment for age, but not much – only a few seconds or reps. Face it, ya gotta be in shape.

 

But wait… the newest applicants can’t take that test anymore. They have to complete the rowing test instead. Which means rowing 2000 meters (a little over a mile) in less than ten minutes. Adjustments are made for weight, age and gender, but again, not much. The video shows what the rower needs to do in terms of extension, etc.

   Concept2 Rowing Video

How do you think you’d do? I might have been able to pass the three-event test before I got shot, but I have never been a rower. Oh, maybe across the pond while I’m fishing, but never distance rowing, ever. LOL

So, let’s say you pass the tests for entrance into the Trooper Academy and successfully complete the training. Time to actually do the work of a State Trooper before you can ever become a Texas Ranger.

 

Trooper Duties

DPS is a state police agency and as such, the Highway Patrol Division Troopers enforce traffic laws, assist during emergencies, investigate most traffic accidents, recover stolen vehicles and stolen property, apprehend wanted persons, and are responsible for security at the State Capitol in Austin, as well as the protection of the Governor while he travels.

After at least two years with the DPS, your career is going well and you decide you’d like to become a Ranger. Here’s the next set of…

Special requirements to become a Texas Ranger:

  • Outstanding record of at least eight (8) years experience with a bona fide law enforcement agency (which could be the DPS), engaged principally in the investigation of major crimes (being an MP doesn’t count)
  • Currently employed with the Texas Department of Public Safety, in the position of a commissioned officer with the rank of at least Trooper II
  • Background check, which would reflect good moral character and habits
  • Valid, clean Texas driver’s license
  • 30 years old at the time of becoming a Ranger

An entrance examination is given, and selected applicants with the highest scores appear before an Oral Interview Board before final selection. The questions are not easy and most applicants don’t pass the first time. Even the wives are interviewed.

 

If you make it through…

As the needs of Texas have evolved, so have the duties of the Rangers. More and more of the Ranger budget is used to guard the border with Mexico, attempting to keep undocumented immigrants from crossing by land or water, as well as protect against the multiple drug and human trafficking rings. The Ranger companies are assigned to serve with the Border Patrol on a rotating basis, no matter where the home assignment is within the State.

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You read about the many investigative duties of a Texas Ranger in “What does a Texas Ranger do?” There are also…

Specialized Units

The Special Operations Group has six programs:

  • The Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) is headquartered in Austin. When needed, they typically respond to: high-risk situations that include hostages, barricaded subjects, and/or active shooter incidents.  
  • The Bomb Squad is part of the SWAT Team in the Texas Rangers and is accredited by the FBI.  They are the primary responders (and provide investigative support) to crisis situations involving any kind of explosive devices. Members of this highly skilled group train at Red Stone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama. 
  • The Ranger Reconnaissance Team carries out undercover missions along the Texas-Mexico border region or in out-of-the-way areas inaccessible by local law enforcement. The team gathers intelligence and disrupts drug cartel operations.
  • Special Response Teams (SRT) are a blend of Highway Patrol officers, Criminal Investigation officers and Texas Rangers and are located in each of the areas covered by the Texas Rangers. They are the first responders to hostage situations, barricaded and/or active shooter incidents. 
  • Crisis Negotiation Teams (CNT) CNT members collect and evaluate information about various ongoing crises, relay that information to the Special Operations Commander, and are sometimes part of the active resolution of the incident.
  • Border Security Operations Center (BSOC) – Joint Operations and Intelligence Centers (JOIC). The Border Security Operations Center (BSOC) is headquartered in Austin, analyzes border security/criminal information, and makes sure that new information is shared with the correct agencies.

In addition…

Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program
The Unsolved Crimes unit allows Texas law enforcement agencies the extra edge to investigate unsolved murders when there seems to be a link between several crimes. A local agency may investigate one crime, have no suspect after a reasonable period of time, and set the case aside until some clarifying piece of evidence shows up. The Unsolved Crimes unit has easier access to information about similar cases statewide or nationwide and may be able to tie all the information together and focus efforts on a particular suspect.

Texas Ranger Forensic Artists

Since the 1980s, the TXDPS has employed full-time Forensic Artists. They help criminal investigators by completing:

  • Composite drawings of suspects
  • Post mortem images of unidentified deceased persons
  • 2-D and 3-D facial reconstruction images using skeletal remains
  • Age-progressed facial images of missing persons or fugitives

The Forensic Artists sometimes testify in court as to their findings. They also work with the TXDPS Missing Persons Clearinghouse, the Unidentified Persons and DNA Unit.

In 2013, the average Texas Ranger was around 44 years of age, so the job is not about youth and daredevil showboating. The job is about experience, perseverance, a keen investigative mind, a willingness to be “subject to call” 24/7, and the ability to bring in the criminal, whatever it takes.

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Many thanks to Texas Ranger, Ret., Richard (Dick) Johnson, for his generosity in sharing his experiences and expertise about the Texas Rangers. Thanks also to his wife, Connie Johnson, for introducing me to Sargent Johnson and sharing her own perspective about the Rangers and all the amazing things they do. Any errors in fact are mine, not theirs.

Photo credits:

First and last photos taken by Patti Phillips at the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas

Map: the Texas Department of Public Safety

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