Last Fall, New Dominion Pictures, a film company then in Virginia, first contacted us and then flew out to do a documentary on a search dog case (scent discrimination) that we did with our Bloodhounds, “Tonto” and “Tonta”, on March 12th, 1987.
The case was one of a young black woman (Champaign, Ill., resident) who, it turned out, had been murdered and transported in the trunk of her own vehicle to a site in Danville (Ill.) near the Vermilion River. After police from both departments had searched the suspect area for days, unsuccessfully, we were given permission to go over with our Bloodhounds, “Tonto” and “Tonta”. By then, it was the 10th day of her disappearance and, using scent articles from the victim’s home, we worked them on mantrailing and cadaver, respectively. “Tonto” found the victim’s body within a short time in a shallow grave; “Tonta”, just a year old that day, quickly picked up scent working her grid pattern, and came in right after him.
It had gotten down to 17 degrees the night before, and her body was frozen. I could detect absolutely nothing, even standing over her; nor could I see her, but “Tonto” was steadfast, so I continued to look -- and finally, I could see just a little of the back of her hand, down in the brush. She had been murdered and buried by her boyfriend, who then fled to Arkansas; he then took a bus to West Palm Beach, FL., where he would have blended in with all of the students during Spring Break. However, because of the dogs’ find and the evidence gathered, and the way everything fell into place, they were able to contact the authorities in W.P.B. -- and were able to catch him as he was getting off the bus at the station there. He was brought back, tried and convicted of murder, and received a 35-year sentence.
At a Bloodhound Training Seminar in Santa Fe, N.M., in 1988, as a result of this and other cases in which “Tonto” had demonstrated his mantrailing abilities, we were greatly honored that he received the Big T Multipurpose Dog of the Year Award, presented by William D. Tolhurst, an internationally recognized expert in this area, on behalf of the Niagara County Deputy Sheriff’s Assoc. (N.Y.)
There is no way to even describe how surprised and ecstatic we were that now, posthumously, their work will be honored once again -- when the Discovery Channel premieres this documentary on “The New Detectives”, which can be seen on satellite or cable TV -- as the first show of the new season. So, with the full support and help of the police departments involved (Champaign and Danville, Ill.), as well as the State crime lab investigators (Springfield, Ill.), we re-enacted the case last October. As some of you may already know, “The New Detectives” is both the #2-rated regularly scheduled program on the Discovery Channel, as well as one of prime time’s top 10 programs on cable.
The program, “Scent of the Kill”, will air (Eastern Time/Pacific Time) on Tues., Sept. 11th at 9:00 p.m., Wed., Sept. 12th at 1:00 a.m., and again Sat., Sept. 15th at 11:00 p.m. -- as well as be repeated at the end of the season. So, please watch for these in your particular time zone; it’s quite an event for Bloodhounds to get this well-deserved recognition, so don’t miss it. This is part of a series of documentaries on the use of scent discriminating dogs in law enforcement, so there will be several interesting cases presented on “The New Detectives” -- and some on “The FBI Files”, which has already shown the high-profile Danny Ray Horning case, using dogs to make the capture out in Arizona. At a future time, there will be a very special documentary on “The New Detectives” regarding the work of William D. (Bill) Tolhurst. Many of you know that, in addition to his expertise in training his multipurpose Bloodhounds and Labrador Retrievers over the years, he is also an author, researcher, inventor, and a truly amazing individual, who has brought modern technology and scent discriminating dogs together on some very high-profile cases.
Well, after the initial shock and surprise over this great honor to our beloved dogs, both now deceased, we were faced with a new dilemma: who would play their roles? In keeping with the details of the actual case, we wanted them to be a red male and female of similar type. Fortunately, back in July of 1999, after several years of trying, we finally got a small litter of four puppies. We kept two (“Blackjack” and “Rummy”); one went to Clark Air Base in the Philippines (“Bonnie”); and one to a Sergeant with the Lima, Ohio, Police Department (“Grimm”). We would use “Rummy” to play the part of “Tonta”, but didn’t have a red male for the key role. For that, the Sergeant was kind enough to drive all the way back with “Grimm”, who wore “Tonto’s” harness and played the part so well. I’m sure they were watching from the Rainbow Bridge, so I wanted “Tonto’s” and “Tonta’s” stand-ins to perform flawlessly -- and they did.
I also want to share just a few of the funny and interesting facts and happenings during the 10 hours of filming, that all dog handlers (particularly Bloodhounders) can enjoy….. Although we had socialized and trained all the pups from seven weeks to seven months (when “Grimm” and “Bonnie” went to their new homes), I hadn’t seen or handled “Grimm” for a long time; there was no time to test anything out; no time to practice -- just throw on the harness, work him the way I used to, cross my fingers, pray, and hang on for the ride. True to form, he passed over the scent article and took off like his tail was on fire -- my short legs trying hard to keep up.
Then, the director shouts “Cut. Cut.” and we had to come back for a re-take. Same thing, followed by “Cut. Cut.”. Nice fellow that he was, he didn’t know that lots of Bloodhounds work this way -- he just couldn’t believe that “Grimm” had the scent, because he didn’t stop and sniff the article for a long time, nor work hard about puzzling out the direction of the trail, etc., etc.. Well, we tried to explain all that, but it was just too unbelievable to him -- so we had to do several more re-takes to get the camera angles and type of start he wanted. At one point, “Grimm” went by the camera and gave a dirty look right into the lens. A treat was even hidden under the scent article, to coax him to spend more time with it; in disgust, he drug it off with him at one point.
At last, they relented and let him start -- but there were several more re-takes along the way, because a cameraman just can’t keep up with a Bloodhound on the trail. Different lighting and camera angles, etc., had to be done. Everyone was just fascinated with watching him work, so they all wanted to follow along (not the way it went on the real case, though).
Finally, when he went in for the find, they stayed back -- but there were many more re-takes to satisfy the cameraman and director. We were all worn to a frazzle after 10 hours of filming, and “Grimm” must have thought we were all SO STUPID -- having to be shown everything so many times. For the interview, we were just leaning on each other to keep from falling over, and I was probably sweating like a horse. ; -) I was so proud when, during the interview with the State crime lab investigators, they gave the dogs Full Credit on this case. I sure hope and pray that those remarks and some other important statements survive the film cutting it takes to reduce 10 hours into the approximate 20 minutes allowed for that segment of the program. It was quite an experience; one I wouldn’t trade for anything -- but none of us came away with a burning desire to become an actor/actress -- least of all, “Grimm”.
Joyce and Frank Phares
Urbana, Illinois