Sandra Anderson, the renowned dog trainer whose doberman-mix Eagle has sniffed out human remains in many famous cases, including for the Truth Commission here in Panama, is involved in a flap with a local police department in Michigan. Accused by Oscoda Township police chief Robert LaVack of tampering with evidence in the search of a wooded area for a young woman who disappeared 22 years ago, Anderson was briefly detained by agents from the Bay City FBI office on April 16, then released. No criminal charges have been filed, and according to Anderson the matter has not been taken to a federal grand jury.

Last year Anderson and Eagle had turned up partial human remains in a search of the Huron National Forest for the body of Cherita Thomas, an Oscoda resident who was 20 years old when she disappeared in 1980. DNA tests subsequently indicated that the bones came from at least two individuals, neither one of whom was Thomas. After Anderson's detention while conducting a further search of the area where the bones were found, police in Oscoda, who were working with the FBI, the Michigan State Police and other local law enforcement agencies, called off the Thomas investigation.

Although rumors have spread through forensic investigators' circles that her dog Eagle was impounded when she was detained, Anderson denies it.

The dog, who is more than 10 years old, has unique talents that over the years have solved many cases, uncovered politically embarrassing facts, attracted widespread attention from the news media and sometimes irritated other forensic investigators. At the University of Nebraska, Anderson and Eagle found that a site slated for development had been used to scatter the incinerated remains of American Indians, which resulted in the place being designated a burial ground and the building plans being cancelled. Here in Panama, Attorney General Sossa's office dismissed the story of a witness to the burial of bodies near the David airport during the time of the dictatorship, but Anderson and Eagle corroborated the witness.

But despite the successes here, one of the experts who worked for the Truth Commission as Anderson and Eagle did, speaking under condition of anonymity, told The Panama News that the circus atmosphere surrounding Anderson and Eagle detracted from the investigation. The source advocated more care in the selection of experts for probes like the Truth Commission's, in order to get people with good academic and professional credentials and weed out publicity seekers.

The Oscoda police chief, who has not only not solved the old murder case but whose allegations against Anderson have not resulted in any prosecution, still questions the evidence that Eagle and Anderson have uncovered in other cases in the US and around the world. "There's a lot of people scratching their heads and wondering what really happened," LaVack told the Oscoda Press.

LaVack's charges are already finding an echo in Brooksville, Florida, where Eagle and Anderson found remains that are suspected to be those of three-year-old Megan LeeAnn Pratt, whom investigators believe was killed by her stepfather 11 years ago. According to the St. Petersburg Times, initial nuclear DNA tests on the remains were inconclusive, and now mitochondrial DNA tests are being conducted to see if they are Pratt's. The paper reported that Florida law enforcement officials, who would already have a difficult case to prove due to conflicting statements by witnesses and other problems, worry that the allegations in Michigan might taint their evidence. However, the paper also quoted one of the detectives that worked with Anderson on the Brooksville case, who noted that at no time was she ever alone at the site to plant evidence.

Here in Panama Attorney General Sossa is opposed to the Truth Commission investigation, has done many things to obstruct it, and vows not to investigate any of its findings. Thus it is likely that Panamanian prosecutors will use the Oscoda allegations as one more excuse to ignore the remains that Eagle sniffed out here.

Anderson, however, told The Panama News that "in Panama, we were surrounded by people, including law enforcement, guards, media filming, etc. Security lived with us. Video was always on. Logically, remains were located at depths of soil, excavated from under floors, found intact in unmarked graves on Coiba, on a beach in Taboga, in a wall, and most importantly, many times without myself or Eag present." Anderson added that "we traveled all over the country with so many others --- at no time were we alone."

Anderson declines to speculate about where the Oscoda allegations may lead, or about the motives of those who made them. She did acknowledge that professional rivalries and jealousies do exist in the forensic sciences and that she has frequently encountered them. She defends her dog's record, and her own. "Eag is 10 and a half years old, will retire soon due to age, and has a solid record," she said, adding that "those families I have assisted over the years are the ones who know."

© 2002 by The Panama News All Rights Reserved For information or problems with this page contact: editor@ThePanamaNews.com
News Business Editorial Opinion Letters Arts Reviews Community Fun Travel Galleries Calendar Outdoors Dining Science Sports Español Archive Front Page also in this section: Panama news briefs Panama mourns Monsignior Altafulla Dog trainer questioned Constitutional change?