This Conference is for anthropologists, archeologists, students, and anyone interested in learning more about the use of trained detection dogs for historic and pre-contact grave location.
INSTRUCTORS
Adela Morris
Historic Human Remains Detection Specialist
Member of the Institute for Canine Forensics (ICF) Board of Directors
Evaluator and Instructor: Human Remains Detection
Adela has been involved in human remains detection with her dogs since 1986 and has deployed her dogs on hundreds of searches specializing on cold cases, crime scenes and historic burials. She has certified ten dogs for human remains detection. Since 2017, she has also worked with the Alta Heritage Foundation’s Cremated Remains Recovery Team, helping locate previously cremated remains for victims of wildfires whose homes have been destroyed. She is the founder of the Institute for Canine Forensics, a nonprofit organization for the advancement of research and education for the use of canines. Adela is also the founder of the Canine Specialized Search Team, a volunteer resource for Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. She has served as an expert witness. She currently has two Border Collies certified in Historic Human Remains Detection, Zia and Asher.
Historic Human Remains Detection Publications
“Locating the Grave of John Snyder”, Overland Journal, Vol. 30, No. 3, Fall 2012.
“Assessing Canine Forensic Results with Archaeological Excavations at Protohistoric Síi Túupentak (CA-ALA 565/H) in the San Francisco Bay Area”, Society for California Archaeology Annual Meeting, March 2019.
“Applying Canine Detection in Support of Collaborative Archaeology”, 2021, Advances in Archaeological Practice, 9(3), 226-237, doi:10.1017/aap.2021.12
Historic Human Remains Detection Specialist
Member of the Institute for Canine Forensics (ICF) Board of Directors
Evaluator and Instructor: Human Remains Detection
Adela has been involved in human remains detection with her dogs since 1986 and has deployed her dogs on hundreds of searches specializing on cold cases, crime scenes and historic burials. She has certified ten dogs for human remains detection. Since 2017, she has also worked with the Alta Heritage Foundation’s Cremated Remains Recovery Team, helping locate previously cremated remains for victims of wildfires whose homes have been destroyed. She is the founder of the Institute for Canine Forensics, a nonprofit organization for the advancement of research and education for the use of canines. Adela is also the founder of the Canine Specialized Search Team, a volunteer resource for Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. She has served as an expert witness. She currently has two Border Collies certified in Historic Human Remains Detection, Zia and Asher.
Historic Human Remains Detection Publications
“Locating the Grave of John Snyder”, Overland Journal, Vol. 30, No. 3, Fall 2012.
“Assessing Canine Forensic Results with Archaeological Excavations at Protohistoric Síi Túupentak (CA-ALA 565/H) in the San Francisco Bay Area”, Society for California Archaeology Annual Meeting, March 2019.
“Applying Canine Detection in Support of Collaborative Archaeology”, 2021, Advances in Archaeological Practice, 9(3), 226-237, doi:10.1017/aap.2021.12
Lisa Higgins
Dr. Ben Alexander has been involved with fielding nationally certified human remains detection dogs since 2002. Ben is the director for FIRST Detection K9, a 501c3 organization dedicated to scent detection research, credentialing and cold case & historic/pre-contact mission focus.
In 2019 he began working his current partner a border collie Rip for cold cases, historic and pre-contact burials. Rips finds include burials that were between 150 & 250 years old as well as pre-contact graves ranging from 2500 years old and older. Ben is currently training his second Paleo human detection dog (PHD) Cami, a lagotto romagnolo.
Unlike many PHD/HHRD dogs Ben's dogs have been started on whole bodies at the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State and worked on fresh burials in their early training. Transitioning to green cemeteries working contemporary graves then after reaching proficiency taken to historic cemeteries and introduced to graves ranging in age from 100 - 250 years old. This method has produced 4 successful HHRD dogs thus far. Pictures is his partner K9 Caile whom he started dabbling in historic with in the latter part of her career.
In 2019 he began working his current partner a border collie Rip for cold cases, historic and pre-contact burials. Rips finds include burials that were between 150 & 250 years old as well as pre-contact graves ranging from 2500 years old and older. Ben is currently training his second Paleo human detection dog (PHD) Cami, a lagotto romagnolo.
Unlike many PHD/HHRD dogs Ben's dogs have been started on whole bodies at the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State and worked on fresh burials in their early training. Transitioning to green cemeteries working contemporary graves then after reaching proficiency taken to historic cemeteries and introduced to graves ranging in age from 100 - 250 years old. This method has produced 4 successful HHRD dogs thus far. Pictures is his partner K9 Caile whom he started dabbling in historic with in the latter part of her career.
Lisa Higgins is the co-founder of one of the first SAR teams in LA, Louisiana Search and Rescue Dog team otherwise known as LaSAR beginning in 1989. The team has responded to well over a thousand calls since 1991 when they were first used to locate a teenager under three feet of sand and four feet of water in May of 1991.
Lisa now serves as the team's senior handler and lead trainer. Lisa began a career in Law Enforcement as early as 1978 retiring a commission with thirty years in 2008 with St. Tammany Sheriff's Office as a SSgt. In the Special Operations division.
She continued working as a canine contractor with the FBI Forensic Canine program from 2005 until 2018. Lisa continues to work with LaSAR as a volunteer now with thirty-three years field experience. Lisa continues to instruct seminars all over the country and is a canine evaluator for various national organizations including NSDA.
Lisa also participates in historic work with her dogs and has worked several searches for historic and pre-contact burials.
Lisa now serves as the team's senior handler and lead trainer. Lisa began a career in Law Enforcement as early as 1978 retiring a commission with thirty years in 2008 with St. Tammany Sheriff's Office as a SSgt. In the Special Operations division.
She continued working as a canine contractor with the FBI Forensic Canine program from 2005 until 2018. Lisa continues to work with LaSAR as a volunteer now with thirty-three years field experience. Lisa continues to instruct seminars all over the country and is a canine evaluator for various national organizations including NSDA.
Lisa also participates in historic work with her dogs and has worked several searches for historic and pre-contact burials.