Jolynna
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A search, even with dogs, and even with professional searchers, does not mean there was no body.
From the chapter, Levels of Certainty and Conclusions Reached (The Cadaver Dog Handbook: Forensic Training and Tactics for the Recovery of Human Remains)
As Tim Miller said, a two year-old body in an area like central Florida is a needle in a haystack. As the cadaver dog training handbook pointed out, there is no guarantee that a cleared area, even an area searched by a good cadaver dog, doesn't have a body. The odds were against Caylee ever being found.
Autopsy Report; http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/19/caylee.anthony.autopsy.pdf
Forensic Entomology Report:
http://www.clickorlando.com/download/2009/1106/21539770.pdf
imo
From the chapter, Levels of Certainty and Conclusions Reached (The Cadaver Dog Handbook: Forensic Training and Tactics for the Recovery of Human Remains)
No one can ever be 100% certain that a negative search means the deceased is not in the search area. Multiple variables exist, including but certainly not limited to the handler, the dog, the terrain, the weather, the time since presumed death, and the physical features of the missing person.
Handler/dog teams differ. A handler may misread a dog or fail to see a partial alert or area of interest because of ground cover or foliage. A dog may not be working well. This is often obvious to the handler, but at other times it may be missed. A physical ailment may cause a dog to skip an area because of the terrain. A dog that has traveled a long distance may fail to acclimate and will not search well.
The effects of terrain on search outcome are discussed in detail in other chapters. It is always important to remember that soil type will affect the search. Sandy soil is more likely to permit scent escape than is clay. Dry soil will permit scent escape more than wet soil. Steep terrain will interfere with search patterns and may provide areas seemingly inaccessible. heavy growth, particularly brambles may prevent a dog from searching an area. These types of secondary growth can occur over a very short time and may well not have been present when and if a body was buried on the site.
Weather is also discussed in detail in other chapters. Suffice it to say that temperature, humidity, wind direction and speed and barometric pressure can affect the outcome of a search. Heat is particularly debilitating to dogs and may further affect the search by promoting exhaustion and dehydration...snipped
The physical characteristics of the missing individual include sex, height, weight, and degree of condition. A large, obese person is going to provide a greater scent pool. Infants, on the other hand, have little tissue and the scent source will be lost
Anyone who doubts that Caylee wasn't out on Suburban before the hurricane left the location,and Caylee, underwater needs to reread the autopsy and entomology reports. All of the bags contained dirt, fine sand and silt. Except for bones found with the bags and skull, most of the bones were under muck and leaves. Before the rain came through and left Caylee underwater, INSECTS had invaded the hair mat. Insect cases and dead pupa (maggots) were found in the dirt on Suburban under and around Caylee's bones. The scattering of the bones and the insect infestation had to happen before that area was underwater, while Caylee was decomposing and before skeletonization. Different carrion-eating insects prefer bodies in different stages of decomposition. Handler/dog teams differ. A handler may misread a dog or fail to see a partial alert or area of interest because of ground cover or foliage. A dog may not be working well. This is often obvious to the handler, but at other times it may be missed. A physical ailment may cause a dog to skip an area because of the terrain. A dog that has traveled a long distance may fail to acclimate and will not search well.
The effects of terrain on search outcome are discussed in detail in other chapters. It is always important to remember that soil type will affect the search. Sandy soil is more likely to permit scent escape than is clay. Dry soil will permit scent escape more than wet soil. Steep terrain will interfere with search patterns and may provide areas seemingly inaccessible. heavy growth, particularly brambles may prevent a dog from searching an area. These types of secondary growth can occur over a very short time and may well not have been present when and if a body was buried on the site.
Weather is also discussed in detail in other chapters. Suffice it to say that temperature, humidity, wind direction and speed and barometric pressure can affect the outcome of a search. Heat is particularly debilitating to dogs and may further affect the search by promoting exhaustion and dehydration...snipped
The physical characteristics of the missing individual include sex, height, weight, and degree of condition. A large, obese person is going to provide a greater scent pool. Infants, on the other hand, have little tissue and the scent source will be lost
As Tim Miller said, a two year-old body in an area like central Florida is a needle in a haystack. As the cadaver dog training handbook pointed out, there is no guarantee that a cleared area, even an area searched by a good cadaver dog, doesn't have a body. The odds were against Caylee ever being found.
Autopsy Report; http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/19/caylee.anthony.autopsy.pdf
Forensic Entomology Report:
http://www.clickorlando.com/download/2009/1106/21539770.pdf
imo
