Patty Loew:
That's good. Good story. Another one of your favorite reports involves an interesting character with his dog Zip.

Liz Koerner:
Yeah. AJ Marhofke has trained his dog to do a forensic search. You probably have heard of canine search and rescue operations after an earthquake but this dog does something very different. I got a demo of Zip's amazing skills at AJ’s farm in Dousman. This is Zip. While the border collie may look like he's enjoying some free time, he's actually a highly trained professional hard at work.

AJ Marhofke:
Let's go.

Liz Koerner:
Zip has a very serious job. He's been trained by his handler, AJ Marhofke, to search for human remains.

AJ Marhofke:
I work as a deputy medical examiner. I have a medical background. I've always loved forensics and I've always loved dogs. Somehow I just figured out one day that maybe these two could work together.

Liz Koerner:
Marhofke says he wants to help families find closure after a loved one has gone missing.

AJ Marhofke:
Good boy, Zip. Good boy. I get a tremendous reward working with the people, the families and the dogs. And once it all comes together it's worth a million dollars.

Liz Koerner:
AJ Marhofke and Zip offer their expertise to law enforcement agencies free of charge. These agencies have clear rules for people who volunteer their services.

Todd Nehls:
The one thing we do want to do is make sure that nobody goes out and does anything on their own. No self-generated, self-motivating type searches.

Liz Koerner:
This partnership has paid off. During the winter of 2003, the Dodge County sheriff called in Marhofke and Zip. A man had gone missing and all other search efforts had failed.

Todd Nehls:
AJ was invited to Dodge County and I think within 45 minutes they made contact with us and said they had located the man who they found deceased alongside a tree about three miles from where we were searching for him.

Liz Koerner:
AJ Marhofke and Zip were also called in recently on a cold case in Shawano County. Private investigators got a new tip about a woman who's been missing since 1998.

Woman:
We would be at a standstill with this investigation if we didn't have AJ and his dogs out working on this because like I said, other than seeing evidence that's sitting out right in front of us, we probably have nothing to go on.

Liz Koerner:
The search on this day was a bust. But Marhofke says it's better to try than ignore a tip.

AJ Marhofke:
You can't ignore a tip, as they call it, where somebody allegedly thinks they may be. And then three years later down the line, they find that's where it happened.

Liz Koerner:
Dogs that are trained to find bodies are commonly called cadaver dogs. Zip is called a forensic evidence dog because he's been trained to find not just cadavers but tiny pieces of human remains.        

AJ Marhofke:
We're going to start on the bank there and walk this way with him. It may be helpful in a very old suspected homicide where we can bring in a dog and go over a basement or an attic or even a living room of a house. And with a reasonable amount of sureness show that there may or may not have been a crime committed there.

Liz Koerner:
Marhofke says that forensic evidence dogs can detect very small amounts of decomposing human scent. In almost unbelievable situations.

AJ Marhofke:
One drop of evidence in an Olympic-sized swimming pool full of water and the dog will detect that, should be able to find it. Many people try to disguise a crime scene by lighting a fire whether  in a car, an automobile or a house, so we try to match or train in every conceived situation that unfortunately man would do to another human.

Liz Koerner:
In order to train Zip, Marhofke must use human evidence. He says friends and family members donate most materials.

AJ Marhofke:
We'll take teeth, human teeth and put them in gravel.

AJ Marhofke:
Let's go to work. Find naypoo.

AJ Marhofke:
Zip will stay there for hours until he has every tooth. He has the determination and drive to get the job done.

Liz Koerner:
The trick to training dogs like Zip is finding out what makes them want to work.

AJ Marhofke:
Is it food or is it a toy? It's usually one or the other. Once you do that, you basically start playing, make it into a game for them.
   
Liz Koerner:
Marhofke also trains other teams in forensic evidence recovery.

AJ Marhofke:
I guess we're going to do a little marshy area for human remains.

Liz Koerner:
Fred Carsky is a detective with the Wauwatosa police department. But work with his dog Sammo is done strictly as a volunteer. He says police departments in Wisconsin don't use the unique skills of dogs as much as they do in other parts of the country.

Fred Carsky:
A lot of enforcement agencies are certainly concentrating on technology. Dogs can do a lot. They really can't be replaced by technology.

Fred Carsky:
Good girl. Good girl.

Liz Koerner:
And dog teams that specialize in forensic evidence recovery are very rare in Wisconsin. Marhofke says most law enforcement agencies don't even know what these dogs can do so he's been trying to educate them.

AJ Marhofke:
It's been a long, uphill battle but I think we're gaining ground because each year, we have more and more law enforcement agencies calling us and we're working with a whole lot more people than we did, say, ten years ago.

Liz Koerner:
Marhofke says he loves this work and he isn't the only one. His border collie Zip just can't seem to get enough.

AJ Marhofke:
He will work forever. He's just incredible. He's a one-of-a-kind. Good boy.

Liz Koerner:
AJ recently told me that he and Fred Carsky have been very busy with forensic searches and presentations for members of law enforcement.