Seeking by Scent

FBI Contract K-9s Sniff Out Lost Graves

Earnest Gardner was only 5 at the time, but he remembers standing graveside as his 4-year-old brother Lucious was lowered into the ground. It was 1940 and in a small segregated cemetery across the dirt road from the family church on the eastern outskirts of Tallahassee, Florida. A temporary marker was placed with intentions to put in a more permanent stone, but life went on and, like many of the surrounding graves in the once-abandoned Munree Cemetery, the wooden marker decayed, leaving the plot unnamed. Seventy-two years later on a recent sticky summer morning, Gardner returned to watch a coordinated effort of volunteers uncover and properly preserve the resting places of his brother and an estimated 250 others buried on the five-acre site.

Working the scene of oaks and tangled vines were two unexpected volunteers named Maggie and Dixie. One an Australian shepherd, the other a German shepherd mix, the two human remain detection (HRD) dogs dodged back and forth through the underbrush, noses to the ground. Their handler and trainer, Lisa Higgins of Louisiana, watched closely as her canine partners separately worked the scene.

“To the dogs, this is like scent overload. It’s everywhere,” she explained. “They have to find the little places where the scent is strongest. That’s where they’re going to give us indication points.”

A veteran of HRD, Higgins has been working on a contract basis with the FBI since 1991. The job has taken her from Alaska to Puerto Rico and many points in between to assist with various cases. Her dogs have located human remains dating back to the late 15th century and have worked sites with suspected remains as old as 800 A.D. Watching closely while Maggie circled an area of interest, Higgins explained the extensive training she goes through with her dogs to get them to the point of discerning between scents.

“It’s not pleasant,” she said, smiling.

It requires a steady supply of decaying flesh, which is usually supplied by road kill she picks up. At the scene of an investigation, she refreshes the dog’s sensitivities with a sealed sample of human remains she packs with her gear. Despite the potential “gross out” factor, Higgins has gotten her granddaughter interested in the field. At only 12, Haylee Carney travels with her grandmother to various scenes and has even taken a few college-level forensics classes. At Munree Cemetery, she got a chance to let her own HRD dog-in-training, Jayda, sniff the grounds.

Among the crowd of volunteers was FBI Special Agent Michelle Wyckoff. She scanned the terrain with a metal detector to look for rusting spars of iron, commonly left behind as temporary grave markers. A member of the Panhandle Archeological Society at Tallahassee, Wyckoff helped coordinate the use of the FBI canine resource after seeing Higgins and her dogs on the job for past cases.

“The Munree project is truly a unique example of the FBI working with the local community to recover the history of a Florida cemetery while exposing Florida archeologists and anthropologists to proven recovery tools and techniques,” Wyckoff said.

The data collected at Munree Cemetery, including scans with ground-penetrating radar taken by the National Park Service’s Southeast Archaeological Center, is still under analysis, according to the Florida Public Archaeology Network outreach coordinator Barbara Hines. Many local residents and others involved are hopeful the effort with give a more complete picture of those laid to rest at Munree Cemetery. For Earnest Gardner, just seeing so many people come together for the cause is a success in itself.

“God let me live to walk the ground where my brother was laid,” he said. “It brought him back to me to see all these people honor him by searching.”

CBP Officers at Presidio Port Make Three Drug Busts Thursday

Presidio, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working at the Presidio port of entry made three drug seizures Thursday. The seizures netted 208 pounds of marijuana and three arrests. 

“CBP officers at the Presidio port are conducting thorough and comprehensive inspections and this is the result of their vigilance,” said Ruben Jauregui, acting CBP Presidio Port Director. “It has been several years since we last had a three drug seizure day at the Presidio crossing so this is a significant event.”

The largest seizure of the day was made at approximately 8:00 a.m. when a Chevrolet Silverado entered the facility from Mexico. CBP officers searched the vehicle using a “Buster” density meter and received high readings consistent with hidden contraband. They drilled the bed of the pickup and retrieved a green leafy substance. CBP officers then x-rayed the vehicle and noted anomalies in the bed of the truck. CBP officers dismantled the bed and recovered 28 marijuana-filled bundles weighing 121.4 pounds. 

CBP officers took custody of the driver, 36-year-old Samuel Shane Morris of Old Hickory, Tennessee. He was turned over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement HSI agents and arrested on federal charges in connection with the failed smuggling attempt.

The next seizure was made at approximately 8:40 p.m. when a Chevrolet Cavalier entered the facility from Mexico. CBP officers searched the vehicle and noted a number of anomalies. They used a fiber optic scope to examine the fuel tank and spotted bundles inside the gas tank. They scanned the vehicle with an x-ray unit and spotted anomalies. CBP drug sniffing dog “Izmir” searched the vehicle and alerted to the fuel tank. CBP officers removed 38 marijuana-filled bundles from the fuel tank. The drugs weighed 39.8 pounds.

CBP officers took custody of the driver, 22-year-old Veronica Gomez of Presidio, Texas. She was turned over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement HSI agents and arrested on federal charges in connection with the failed smuggling attempt.

The last seizure of the day was made at approximately 8:45 p.m. when a Dodge Neon entered the facility from Mexico. CBP officers used a fiber optic scope to examine the fuel tank and spotted discrepancies in the appearance of the fuel tank. CBP drug sniffing dog “Izmir” searched the vehicle and alerted to the fuel tank. CBP officer x-rayed the vehicle and spotted anomalies. CBP officers removed 45 marijuana-filled bundles weighing 46.8 pounds from the fuel tank.

CBP officers took custody of the driver, 21-year-old Claudia Fabiola Juarez Hernandez of Ojinaga, Mexico. She was turned over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement HSI agents and arrested on federal charges in connection with the failed smuggling attempt. 

“We often talk about the layers of enforcement we employ at the port of entry and these seizures certainly demonstrate that concept,” said Jauregui. “We employed officer expertise, high technology, and canine assets to make these busts.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers’ primary mission is anti-terrorism; they screen all people, vehicles, and goods entering the United States, while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel into and out of the United States. Their mission also includes carrying out traditional border-related responsibilities, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration law, protecting the nation’s food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases, and enforcing trade laws.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our Nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Significant Marijuana Seizure at Santa Teresa Port

Santa Teresa, N.M. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working at the Santa Teresa port of entry made a large drug seizure on Saturday. They seized 319 pounds of marijuana concealed in a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado. 

The seizure was made at approximately 8:30 a.m. Saturday. CBP officers were conducting an enforcement operation in the line of vehicles before the primary inspection booth when they selected a vehicle for inspection. CBP drug sniffing dog “Dolar” alerted to the presence of a narcotic odor in the undercarriage of the vehicle. The truck was moved to a secondary inspection area. CBP officers located 226 marijuana-filled bundles concealed in floor and bed of the pickup truck.

“Drug trafficking organizations will utilize unthinkable ways to smuggle their contraband into the United States, however, the vigilance and hard work of CBP officers demonstrates that we are always ready to meet their challenge,” said Joanne Thale-Lembo, CBP port director at the Santa Teresa port of entry.

The driver of the vehicle, 46-year-old Eleuterio Pina Aguirre, of Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico was apprehended by CBP officer. He was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and transported to the Dona Ana County detention facility pending federal prosecution.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers’ primary mission is anti-terrorism; they screen all people, vehicles, and goods entering the United States, while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel into and out of the United States. Their mission also includes carrying out traditional border-related responsibilities, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration law, protecting the nation’s food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases, and enforcing trade laws.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

CBP U.S. Border Patrol Canine Teams Prove Successful in Intercepting Drugs

Tucson, Ariz. – Multiple CBP U.S. Border Patrol canine teams made significant discoveries in the past 48 hours, according to agents reporting simultaneous cocaine and marijuana seizures.

Nogales Station agents working at the I-19 checkpoint Tuesday arrested an individual attempting to smuggle cocaine after a canine detection team alerted to the vehicle as it entered the primary inspection lanes. The driver and vehicle were moved to a secondary inspection where agents discovered multiple bricks of cocaine worth approximately $625,000.

Wilcox Station agents working at the State Highway 191 checkpoint made a similar find when a canine team located approximately 100 pounds of marijuana hidden throughout a vehicle. Following the driver’s arrest, the narcotics, valued at about $50,000, and vehicle were seized for evidence.

Both smugglers face possible federal prosecution.

Specially trained Border Patrol canines prove highly valuable in searches for hidden people and narcotics. Every canine working in the field first undergoes a rigorous selection and instruction process, followed by weeks of specialized training with their assigned handler. Specialty teams provide the Border Patrol a way to customize their rapid response tactics to ensure safer border communities.

Customs and Border Protection welcomes assistance from the community. Citizens can report suspicious activity to the Border Patrol and remain anonymous by calling (877) 872-7435 toll free.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

U.S. CBP Border Patrol Agents Intercept more than $3.5 Million of Marijuana at Interstate 15 Checkpoint

Temecula, Calif. — U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Interstate 15 checkpoint thwarted a narcotics smuggling attempt yesterday resulting in the seizure of more than 7,000 pounds of marijuana.

On Monday at approximately 9:30 p.m., agents encountered a 43-year-old male United States citizen driving a white 2003 Freightliner tractor-trailer as he arrived to the checkpoint. During inspection, agents became suspicious of the man’s nervous demeanor and referred him for a secondary inspection.

A Border Patrol K-9 team performed a cursory inspection resulting in a positive alert to the trailer. Agents searched the trailer and discovered 300 bundles of marijuana with a total weight of 7,328.17 pounds. The marijuana had an estimated street value of $3,664,085. 

The suspected smuggler and marijuana were taken into custody and subsequently turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which was working with the assistance of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, for further investigation. The truck used in the smuggling attempt was seized by the U.S. Border Patrol.

To prevent illicit smuggling of humans, drugs, and other contraband, the U.S. Border Patrol maintains a high level of vigilance on major corridors of egress away from our nation’s borders. To report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol, contact San Diego Sector at (619) 498-9900.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.