Finding Solace: Recovering human cremains from the ashes

Instructors: Adela Morris and Lynne Engelbert

In October 2017, a firestorm swept through Sonoma County. Thousands of families lost their homes and all their material possessions. In many instances, the cremated remains of previously deceased family members were stored within the home. A volunteer crew of experienced dog handler teams and archaeologists banded together in an attempt to recover cremains lost during the firestorm. Here we tell the story of our recovery effort and describe how canine teams and archaeologists worked together to help those affected by a significant natural disaster.

Bios

Adela Morris

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 historical burials.

Lynne Engelbert

Lynne has 25+ years of detection dog training and handling experience and is a member of the Institute for Canine Forensics. Lynne and Piper, her border collie, are certified as a Historical Human Remains Detection team; California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) Human Remains Detection and FEMA Human Remains Detection (disaster).