The Cowlitz County Coroner's Office has a new volunteer team member — a cadaver dog to help find missing people or their bodies.
Ember, a 2-year-old German shepherd rescue, and handler Rebecca Fieken, recently received certification for several tracking and searching skills, according to coroner's office press release.
Fieken, a coroner investigator, covered the full cost of training and certification and volunteers Ember's skills to the coroner's office with no cost to the taxpayer, said Cowlitz County Coroner Tim Davidson.
A cadaver dog is similar to a police K9 but is specifically trained in tracking and locating human remains, Davidson said.
Fieken, who has worked at the coroner's office for five years, began training Ember off duty, according to the press release.
"Rebecca has always had a desire to work with dogs, and the development and training of cadaver K9 follows her professional pursuits within the coroner’s office," Davidson said. "She also saw the need to have an immediate searching response for those rural areas within our county."
Harry Oakes, founder of International K9 Search and Rescue, assisted in Ember's training, according to the coroner's office.
The team received certification for air scenting in land and water, tracking and trailing, article searching, basic water searching and cadaver searching on land and water, according to the press release. Ember's training is ongoing.
The coroner’s office, often working with law enforcement, could use Ember to help locate missing people and their remains, as well as evidence, according to the press release.
