On 4/28/2009 at approximately 1945 hours, I was at K9 Unit training at the old Hillcrest Juvenile Facility in San Mateo when I received a request from Highway Patrol Officer Keith Nielson for a tracking dog to assist with the search for a suspect in a 20001 CVC accident that occurred on Highway 280 at Highway 92. Officer Nielson requested that I respond to the intersection of Lexington and Allegheny in Unincorporated San Mateo County to assist with the search.
I arrived at Lexington and Allegheny with my K9 partner Morgan at 2001 hours. K9 Morgan is a 5 year old AKC certified pure bread bloodhound and has previously been certified as a trailing / tracking dog by the Canine Training Academy in Colorado as well as by Jeff Schettler of Tactical Tracker Teams, which is now based in Georgia. K9 Morgan is trained in Tracking/Trailing as well as Article/Evidence searches. K9 Morgan is not protection and/or apprehension trained in order to allow him to search for persons ranging from dangerous criminals to young children without the risk of having the person bitten.
I met with CHP Officers who were at the scene and I was told that the subject was spotted by a fire department official walking through the open field that is to the south of the intersection of Lexington and Allegheny. The subject was observed crossing Allegheny and was believed to have entered a yard in one of the first two houses on the northwest side/end of Allegheny. The officers said that no one other than the suspect was in the field prior to my arrival at the scene. Officers said that a scent article was not immediately available for use by K9 Morgan. The Officer's described the suspect as a black or Hispanic male with black curly hair and wearing a black jacket.
Based upon the fact that a scent article was not available, I harnessed K9 Morgan and began casting for scent in the open field. It was my belief that Morgan would begin following the trail of the only human scent that was believed to be in the field and left by the suspect in this case. While in the field, Morgan began actively and excitedly working a trail. Morgan worked out of the field and through the gate back towards the residences located at Allegheny and Lexington.
Morgan crossed to the north side of Allegheny street and began working eastbound on Allegheny. K9 Morgan started to enter the yard of the residence located on the northwest end of Allegheny, when I noticed that my cover officer was not with me. I terminated the trail and requested that an officer remain with me during the entirety of the trail.
I encouraged Morgan to return to work in front of the residence on the northwest end of Allegheny. K9 Morgan started working east on the north side of the street. He passed two residences and crossed the street to the south side of Allegheny. Morgan showed a strong indication of negative trail (sudden stop, head throw in opposite direction) and he re-crossed the street to the north side of Allegheny.
Morgan then worked up the driveway of 2276 Allegheny and worked to the closed gate located on the east side of the residence. Morgan showed interest in the gate, jumped up on the gate, and bayed. I let Morgan into the back yard of the residence. Morgan showed a high level of excitement as he worked to the northeast corner of the yard. He worked behind the bushes and paused. At the time, low light conditions existed and I did not have a flash light in my possession. I encouraged Morgan to continue working, he left the bushes and returned to the front of the house. There was no indication of a scent trail leaving the residence.
I terminated the trail and told the CHP Officers on scene that the strongest indication I had was in the rear of 2276 Allegheny Street. Myself and three other CHP Officers re-entered the rear yard and checked it a second time. We did not locate the suspect. Based upon Morgan's trail and behavior, I then suggested to the Officers that a yard to yard search with area-search K9s would be advisable. The CHP agreed with the suggestion and I requested additional Patrol K9 assets through County Communications.
Prior to the arrival of a K9 Deputy, I followed CHP Officer back into the yard of 2276 Allegheny to check a shed in the yard. We found that the shed was secured from the outside and we immediately exited the yard.
Following the above check of the shed, K9 Deputy Lopez arrived on scene with his K9. County Communications advised that the residence of 2276 Allegheny reported noises on the side of the house. I told Deputy Lopez that I believed that the report was likely the result of myself and other CHP Officers re-checking a shed in the yard. I also told Deputy Lopez that K9 Morgan showed a strong alert in the back yard of the residence. Deputy Lopez decided to check the yard with his K9.
Prior to entering the yard, I heard Deputy Lopez provide a loud admonition that he was going to search the yard with a K9 if no one came out. I heard no response from the yard and Deputy Lopez deployed his K9 on a long lead. While we were in the back yard, I saw K9 Haiko alert in the northeast corner of the yard. I advised Deputy Lopez that the location was the same location where K9 Morgan alerted. Deputy Lopez encouraged K9 Haiko to continue working and I observed K9 Haiko locate a person behind a bush along the east fence line, near the northeast corner.
