On a cold morning in February 1980, a father and son are working their way along Fly Creek, about 20 miles north of the Oregon border. Seeking promising-looking gravel, they stop here and there, digging small holes along the riverbank. The son kneels; the shovel bites and scrapes. Pale bones appear, then to their horror, a pale skull.

They rush back to their truck, drive to the nearest pay phone, and call 911 to reach the Clark County sheriff’s department. Investigators gather what remains they can from along the creek. Detectives are quick to note that the cause of death appears to be unnatural. Multiple media releases and several facial reconstructions are publicized over the years, but “Fly Creek Jane Doe” remains unidentified.

Forty years pass, and a young women’s homicide goes unsolved. Then the world changes.

Scientists develop ways to extract and sequence small amounts of DNA from human remains. Investigators reach out to obtain DNA reference samples from families with missing relatives. DNA pattern-matching reveals that the found remains are of Sandra Morden, who was 18 years old at the time she went missing. A case long cold now flares with glowing new facts. Clark County detectives are now able to track down those who knew Sandra those forty years ago. They’re able to start asking critical new questions.

For those of us on HRD K9 teams, finding human remains has always been considered a moral duty. We have a responsibility to society of find the lost, and find justice for them. When Suzanne, K9 Keb, and I found a human mandible on one of our first HRD searches, dental forensics were used to identify the victim, thereby solving a 9-year old missing persons case. This is what we train for. This is what we search for.

With the advent of new DNA analysis methods and new genealogical tracing techniques, finding human remains has become even more important. Where in the past, skulls remained “John Does” or “Jane Does”, today, the hope for and anticipation of identification of remains has blossomed like never before.

HRD K9 teams, working hand-in-hand with homicide detectives, always had a purpose. Our purpose is now armed with a new and powerful weapon.