{"id":2638172,"date":"2026-07-31T09:57:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T13:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/search-and-rescue-otter-does-deep-dives-to-solve-cases-recover-evidence\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T10:07:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T14:07:35","slug":"search-and-rescue-otter-does-deep-dives-to-solve-cases-recover-evidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/search-and-rescue-otter-does-deep-dives-to-solve-cases-recover-evidence\/","title":{"rendered":"Search-and-Rescue Otter Does Deep Dives to Solve Cases, Recover Evidence"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsearch-and-rescue-otter-does-deep-dives-to-solve-cases-recover-evidence%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2638172&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article highlights the unique use of an otter named Splash for search-and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/defense-rests-in-ahmaud-arbery-murder-trial\/\" title=\"Defense Rests In Ahmaud Arbery Murder Trial\">-rescue operations<\/a> in Florida.Michael Hadsell, president of Peace River K9 Search and Rescue, trained Splash, a two-year-old Asian small-clawed otter, to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brandon-johnson-to-remove-chicagos-gunshot-detection-system-fulfilling-campaign-promise\/\" title=\"Brandon Johnson will fulfill his campaign promise by removing Chicago&#039;s gunshot detection system\">locate victims<\/a> underwater, especially in areas where dogs cannot operate.splash employs specialized whiskers and a bubble technique to detect scents, and communicates alerts to human divers via a tether system. Over about 18 months, Splash has contributed to nine recoveries, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/just-in-authorities-have-found-human-remains-in-vicinity-of-explosion-in-nashville\/\" title=\"JUST IN: Authorities Have Found Human Remains in Vicinity of Explosion in Nashville\">human remains<\/a> and evidence. Inspired by <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >otters&#039; natural behaviors observed abroad<\/a>, Hadsell is considering training more otters for similar rescue tasks and is documenting Splash\u2019s successes to develop this innovative approach further.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, the best man for the job just might be an otter.<\/p>\n<p>Just ask Michael Hadsell, president of Peace River K9 Search and Rescue in Englewood, Florida.<\/p>\n<p>Hadsell had worked with dogs to recover bodies and evidence, but in Florida, a lot of bad guys dispose of things deep underwater, where dogs can\u2019t go.<\/p>\n<p>Hadsell\u2019s 2-year-old search-and-rescue cadaver recovery otter, Splash, on the other hand, was perfectly cut out for the job.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGod has put him (Splash) together to do this job, so he\u2019s perfect for what we\u2019re doing right now,\u201d Hadsell told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysuncoast.com\/2026\/05\/18\/meet-splash-search-rescue-cadaver-otter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WWSB-TV<\/a> about the Asian small-clawed otter that he trained.<\/p>\n<p>He elaborated on the unique characteristics otters possess that make them excel at the task.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese whiskers, we think, are the key to that,\u201d he told the news outlet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey use this bubble technique where they push the bubbles out, and they suck it back in, and they taste it. The taste response apparently goes to the brain and tells him it\u2019s a match to what he\u2019s looking for, but to get there he uses his whiskers, and they\u2019re kind of like a magnetic field.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">FDLE Fort Myers had a special visitor!<\/p>\n<p>Splash, a small-clawed Asian otter with Peace River K-9 Search and Rescue Dive Team visited FDLE alongside the team\u2019s founder and president, Michael Hadsell. Splash is trained to locate victims in low to no-visibility bodies of water. His\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZwuCCpKBX6\">pic.twitter.com\/ZwuCCpKBX6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 FDLE (@fdlepio) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/fdlepio\/status\/1957807881987731502?\">August 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Splash communicates with Hadsell through a tether line signal system, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox13news.com\/news\/meet-splash-rescue-otter-helps-law-enforcement-agencies-crack-cold-cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WTVT-TV<\/a>. When he detects a match for what he\u2019s been asked to look for, he alerts the human divers, indicating where they should search.<\/p>\n<p>During roughly a year and a half on the job, Splash has played a key part in nine recoveries, including two pieces of criminal evidence and seven sets of human remains.<\/p>\n<p>Hadsell said he doesn\u2019t know of anyone else using an otter in quite this way.<\/p>\n<p>He got the idea after seeing working animals during his travels.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had lived overseas for a while, and I saw they used otters for fishing and hunting,\u201d he told WWSB.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought, \u2018I wonder\u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then he saw an article that said otters could work odor problems underwater, \u201cand I thought, \u2018OK. Maybe we can make this work,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He told WTVT that he\u2019s compiling records about Splash\u2019s work so they can decide whether to start training more otters for the job.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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Just ask Michael Hadsell, president of Peace River K9 Search and Rescue in Englewood, Florida<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2638173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Asian-small-clawed-otter.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[53433,60776,83485,29163,83486],"class_list":["post-2638172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-archaeology-2","tag-marine-wildlife","tag-otter","tag-search-and-rescue","tag-underwater-investigation"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Asian-small-clawed-otter.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2638172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2638172"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2638172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2638177,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2638172\/revisions\/2638177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2638173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2638172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2638172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2638172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}