Search and rescue dogs find murderer's body

Alpha Team K9SAR team, with Circe (L) and Madison (R)

Once again, search and rescue volunteers are in the news, as their dogs do what dogs do best: locate a missing person.

In this latest case, it was the Alpha Team that made the find, using cadaver dogs Madison and Circe. UGA professor George Zinkhan was wanted in the triple murder that happened in Athens on April 25th. His car was found, with passport and cash inside, leading authorities to believe he would be found somewhere nearby. But after extensive searching of the area, nothing was found by the human searchers. That's when the dogs were called in.

Dallas, GA based Alpha Team was called in on Thursday to help. This all-volunteer group only goes on missing person or deceased person searches, not any that would put the teams in the line of fire, such as fugitive hunts. The fact that US Marshalls and the Athens-Clark County Police called in this group says they were expecting to find Zinkhan's body, but had not been able to do so.

On May 7 they were called, on May 8 Steve Barden with Circe and Paula Chambers with Madison spent 10 hours in the heavily wooded area near where the professor's Jeep was found. One of the dogs, a German Shepherd named Circe, behaved as if she had found some scent, but she couldn't work out where it was coming from. The teams stopped working so the dogs could rest and start fresh on Saturday the 10th.

The search Saturday morning took about 10 minutes. Working in the area where Circe had alerted the day before, another dog, an Australian Shepherd named Madison, worked out the scent trail and led authorities to Zinkhan's buried body.

The fugitive had apparently not only dug his own shallow grave, but covered his body with dirt, leaves and other debris before fatally shooting himself. This made it impossible for the human searchers to find him, but for the amazing canine nose it wasn't much of a problem.

Search and rescue dogs are highly trained, as are their human team-mates. Training takes several hours each week to keep the dogs and handlers mission-ready. It takes several thousand dollars to take a team from novice to expert, and most search and rescue groups don't charge for their services, meaning that these people work for the satisfaction of a job well done.

In this case, a tragic triple murder that shook the tight Athens community has a final ending. Thanks to Madison and Circe, there is an end to the search for the murderer. And since dogs are such good healers, perhaps their wagging tails will help the victims' families begin to heal, too.

Let's Build a Veterinary Teaching Hospital!
Click here for
Billy's Building Fund

Please subscribe to Atlanta's Dog Examiner page.
We don't sell or rent your email addresses, ever, and you'll be the first to know about
Atlanta's dog news, events and people. Just click the "Subscribe to email" tab above...thanks!