Detectives led astray by sniffer dogs

Detectives led astray by sniffer dogs
10 May 2011
Daily Mail
Chris Brooke

The Portuguese police case against the McCanns relied on dubious evidence from two British sniffer dogs.

PC Martin Grime took his highly-trained spaniels Keela and Eddie to the apartment Madeleine was taken from. In her book, serialised in the Sun, Mrs McCann recalled the 100th day of the hunt for Madeleine when a police officer told her the two dogs had indicated blood and human remains were in the apartment.

‘Police appeared to be telling us, on the say-so of a dog, that someone had definitely died in apartment 5a and it must have been Madeleine.’

Later she said the Portuguese officer boasted about the success rate of the dogs. This helped persuade the authorities to name the McCanns as ‘arguidos’ or official suspects.

However, after forensic tests were carried out it later became clear that no scientific evidence could be found to back up the reaction of the sniffer dogs.

Mr Grime is now a director of a forensic science company, GSS International, and is employed as a sniffer dog expert. He owns both his former police dogs and they continue to work with him.

Yesterday he was in the United States on business and a spokesman for the Hampshire-based company said he had been asked by police in the UK not to comment on the McCann case.

Mr Grime and his dog Eddie were involved in the search for remains at the Haut de la Garenne children’s home in Jersey. The massive investigation in 2008 ended with the conclusion that nothing suspicious was found at the scene and there was no evidence of murder.

Continue Reading... Labels: Eddie, Forensic Science Service, FSS, Haut de la Garenne, Jersey, Keela, Madeleine McCann, Martin Grime

Eddie and Keela (two forensic dogs) and their handler ex PC Martin Grime at work in Portugal on the case of Madeleine McCann

September 04, 2008 — A video showing Eddie and Keela (two forensic dogs) and their handler ex PC Martin Grime at work in Portugal on the case of Madeleine McCann. The dogs clearly alert to the scent of cadaver and blood on clothing in the hired Renault Scenic and in Apartment 5A where Drs Gerry and Kate McCann stayed with their family in Praia da Luz in May 2007.

Eddie and Keela, two of the most famous dog detectives in Europe used to work for South Yorkshire Police. Eddie and Keela are highly skilled sniffer dogs - technically known as victim recovery dogs - who search for and locate human remains. They have recently worked in Jersey on the Haut de la Garenne case.

The case surrounding the disappearance of Madeleine has been shelved by the Portuguese Policia Judiciara awaiting further evidence. A book about the case by Goncarlo Amaral has been released in Portugal - The Truth of the Lie.

Continue Reading... Labels: Eddie, Haut de la Garenne, Jersey, Keela, Madeleine McCann, Martin Grime, South Yorkshire Police

Canine super sleuths

29 February 2008
Aberdeen Press & Journal

It will be some time before the former children's home at Haut de la Garenne, on Jersey, yields all its secrets.

But a canine hero has already emerged in the form of Eddie, an enhanced victim recovery dog from South Yorkshire.

It's thanks to Eddie's super-sensitive nose that the partial remains of a young child were found last weekend, sparking the major investigation which has unfolded this week.

Standard victim recovery dogs are trained to detect human remains in shallow graves. Eddie, a seven-year-old springer spaniel, has been trained to react to the faintest trace of human bones, blood and flesh - even through solid materials.

Continue Reading... Labels: Abigail Witchells, Eddie, FBI, Haut de la Garenne, Jersey, Keela, Madeleine McCann, Martin Grime, South Yorkshire Police

Canine experts at centre of Jersey body search

25 February 2008
Yorkshire Post

Two specialist sniffer dogs belonging to South Yorkshire Police are at the centre of the grim search of a former children's home in Jersey where the remains of a body has been uncovered.

Teams at Haut de la Garenne in St Martin, on the east coast of the island, are working with canine experts Eddie and Keela and using specialist equipment - including ground penetrating radar - to fully excavate parts of the Jersey youth hostel.

The search is now centering on a bricked up cellar at the hostel, which was formerly an orphanage.

Continue Reading... Labels: Attracta Harron, Eddie, Haut de la Garenne, Jersey, Keela, Madeleine McCann, Martin Grime, South Yorkshire Police, Trevor Hamilton

Specialist team in bodies hunt at ex-children's home

25 February 2008
Press Association National Newswire
Katie Hodge

The investigation at a former children's home in Jersey has pulled together an extensive team of specialist officers and forensic experts to hunt for more remains.

Teams at Haut de la Garenne in St Martin, on the east coast of the island, are working with sniffer dogs and specialist equipment - including ground penetrating radar - to fully excavate parts of the Jersey youth hostel.

The specialists, who range from archaeologists to scientists and pathologists, play a crucial role in discovering, preserving and identifying any remains found during a forensic examination.

But the work is being led by two sniffer dogs - one which specialises in detecting human remains and another which specialises in detecting blood.

Springer spaniel Eddie was involved in the hunt for Madeleine McCann in Portugal and was responsible for finding the remains at Haut de la Garenne through several inches of concrete on Saturday.

Continue Reading... Labels: Attracta Harron, Eddie, Haut de la Garenne, Jersey, Keela, Madeleine McCann, Martin Grime, South Yorkshire Police, Trevor Hamilton

Dog that nailed Ulster killer is used in hunt

25 February 2008
Belfast Telegraph
Claire McNeilly

Springer spaniel Eddie, a victim recovery dog, is helping police look for  more remains in the area surrounding the former children's home. Last night, the investigation was focusing on one area of the building,  after Eddie was understood to have indicated that there may be further  victims there.

The crimefighting dog helped police put evil killer Trevor Hamilton behind bars after he found the blood of Attracta Harron (63)  on the 23-year-old murderer's car.  The dog found her body in a  shallow grave in April 2003.

Eddie - who works with South Yorkshire Police with his handler Martin Grime - was also involved in the search for  the body of Arlene Arkinson. The Tyrone teenager vanished after  leaving a disco in Bundoran in August 1994, but her body has never been  found.

Continue Reading... Labels: Arlene Arkinson, Attracta Harron, Eddie, Haut de la Garenne, Jersey, Martin Grime, South Yorkshire Police, Trevor Hamilton

Endemic abuse at home: ex-RUC officer

Endemic abuse at home: ex-RUC officer
25 February 2008
Belfast Telegraph
Deborah McAleese

Former RUC man Lenny Harper said police, who are acting on intelligence that arose from a major child abuse investigation, are now investigating six more sites in the grounds of Haut de la Garenne, a former care home in St Martin on the east coast of the Channel Island, and that it is possible they may find more remains.

Mr Harper, who is now Jersey's Deputy Chief Police Officer, said that the excavation at the site - which featured as a police station in the TV series Bergerac and is now Jersey's youth hostel - took place after a number of abuse victims said they believed human remains were buried at the scene.

"The (child abuse) investigation started when police became concerned about the number of persons in a position of responsibility caring for children being arrested, charged and sometimes convicted of paedophile type offences."

Once (the investigation) was public we were overwhelmed with the number of people saying they were assaulted either physically or sexually at the care home, and our investigation has continued since then," Mr Harper said.

He added that following intelligence that a body may be buried at the site a number of experts and specially trained police dogs - including Eddie, the springer spaniel who helped nail evil Ulster killer Trevor Hamilton - were brought in to examine the area before any excavation began.

" We have been planning this (the excavation) for several weeks. We became aware that a number of victims were saying they thought there were human remains buried at the scene."

Mr Harper added:

"The home is situated in a lovely part of the island. It belies what has gone on behind its walls."

 

Continue Reading... Labels: Attracta Harron, Eddie, Haut de la Garenne, Jersey, Trevor Hamilton