Cadaver Dog question

[icabodcrane]

I know that many instances can be cited where dead bodies have been found,  following cadaver dog alerts  ... I know, too,  there are instance where cadaver dogs have alerted where no dead body was recovered,  but the missing person remained  'disappeared'

Has there  ever  been a case where a cadaver dog  'alerted'  in the search for a missing person  ...  and that person subsequently turned up alive  ? 

[debunker]

I know that many instances can be cited where dead bodies have been found,  following cadaver dog alerts  ... I know, too,  there are instance where cadaver dogs have alerted where no dead body was recovered,  but the missing person remained  'disappeared'

Has there  ever  been a case where a cadaver dog  'alerted'  in the search for a missing person  ...  and that person subsequently turned up alive  ?

Why would that matter? All scent dogs have a maximum average reliability of 70-90%.

[ferryman]

There have been instances where a cadaver dog has been alerted and the provenance of the alert has been demonstrated and established as innocent.

That's enough.

But add to that demonstrable errors such as Eddie's alert to cuddle-cat.

[icabodcrane]

No precedent case then  ? 

It's  never  happened that a cadaver dog alerted in a missing person case,  and the person turned up alive  ? 

[Carana]

Shannon Matthews.

[icabodcrane]

Shannon Matthews.

There were dead bodies involved in the Mathews case  (  known deaths in the properties searched resulted in cadavarine  being transfered )  and the dogs were accurate in identifying it

[Carana]

Shannon Matthews.

There were dead bodies involved in the Mathews case  (  known deaths in the properties searched resulted in cadavarine  being transfered )  and the dogs were accurate in identifying it

Where did you read that?

[debunker]

Shannon Matthews.

There were dead bodies involved in the Mathews case  (  known deaths in the properties searched resulted in cadavarine  being transfered )  and the dogs were accurate in identifying it

Where did you read that?

The furniture came from a second hand shop where they had been acquired from the house of a person who had died there. IIRC

[icabodcrane]

Shannon Matthews.

There were dead bodies involved in the Mathews case  (  known deaths in the properties searched resulted in cadavarine  being transfered )  and the dogs were accurate in identifying it

Where did you read that?

In a sky news article on this board  (  I can't remember which thread,  sorry  )

It may have been that it was the furniture in the properties that had been in contact with the corpses  ...  in any event,  the dogs alerts were proven to be accurate 

[Carana]

Shannon Matthews.

There were dead bodies involved in the Mathews case  (  known deaths in the properties searched resulted in cadavarine  being transfered )  and the dogs were accurate in identifying it

Where did you read that?

In a sky news article on this board  (  I can't remember which thread,  sorry  )

It may have been that it was the furniture in the properties that had been in contact with the corpses  ...  in any event,  the dogs alerts were proven to be accurate

In which case, has it been excluded that Eddie could have been reacting to the residual smell of (perhaps second-hand) furniture which may have been brought into that apartment when it became a holiday rental?

This was once a private residence (cf T.S's statement), which was subsequently rented out as a holiday apartment.


Were the various owners ever questioned on this aspect?

[icabodcrane]

If Shannon had remained successfully hidden there would no doubt be forums dedicated to getting justice for a dead Shannon all over the internet by now.

Why would there be when the explanation for the accurate cadaver dog alerts had been found ?

[Gildas]

Debunker posted ;
Why would that matter? All scent dogs have a maximum average reliability of 70-90%.

Debunker, could you explain what this means?

[icabodcrane]

Shannon Matthews.

There were dead bodies involved in the Mathews case  (  known deaths in the properties searched resulted in cadavarine  being transfered )  and the dogs were accurate in identifying it

Where did you read that?

In a sky news article on this board  (  I can't remember which thread,  sorry  )

It may have been that it was the furniture in the properties that had been in contact with the corpses  ...  in any event,  the dogs alerts were proven to be accurate

In which case, has it been excluded that Eddie could have been reacting to the residual smell of (perhaps second-hand) furniture which may have been brought into that apartment when it became a holiday rental?

This was once a private residence (cf T.S's statement), which was subsequently rented out as a holiday apartment.


Were the various owners ever questioned on this aspect?

Given the involvement of two national police forces and the array of private investigators employed by the McCanns I would say it inconcievable that those sorts of enquiries have not been made

[Carana]

If Shannon had remained successfully hidden there would no doubt be forums dedicated to getting justice for a dead Shannon all over the internet by now.

Why would there be when the explanation for the accurate cadaver dog alerts had been found ?

I'm confused. Shannon was found alive. Not dead in wherever the dog had alerted to. Whatever had alerted the dog was not connected to her status as a person who was alive or dead.


ETA: I've edited the post as it wasn't clear.

[debunker]

Debunker posted ;
Why would that matter? All scent dogs have a maximum average reliability of 70-90%.

Debunker, could you explain what what this means?

Any measuring instrument has a reliability associated with it. For instance, speedometers in cars are often 5-10% out as a consequence of inbuilt inaccuracy or the tires wearing down changing the speed shown.

Any measurement has a possibility of being in error, even yes/no decisions.

Errors may be of two kinds- false positives and false negatives. A false positive result is where something indicates something is there when it is not; a false negative is where something indicates that something is not there when it is.

Scent dogs in carefully controlled (artificial) circumstances are up to 90% accurate. Usual estimates of reliability in  the real world is between 70 and 90%. Because identifying cadaver requires two measurements (Eddie + Keela -) the reliability is reduced because each measurement has a reliability of 70-90%. This gives a reliability for the dyad at 49-81%- expecting between 2 and 5 false alerts in every 10.

Drug detection jobs in real life react with no evidence of drugs being found 2 times out of 3!

So the beat you can say about the dogs is that they give you hints about where you should look for real evidence.