# How long could a cadaver dog still find a body? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 24, 2014, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103 "2014-02-24T15:09:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bonnienclyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@Bonnienclyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonnienclyde)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/1 "2014-02-24T15:09:56Z")
For example: A body is burned in the woods, in the east U.S. Said body is moved after a period of time has passed. Would dogs still be able to detect anything 4 years later? At the original burn site? (BTW, I’m not a murderer. Just a possibility in a local case) ---
**Author:** ![Bonnienclyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@Bonnienclyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonnienclyde)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/2 "2014-02-24T15:27:21Z")
It won’t let me edit. I meant to say east Ky, an area with typical four season weather. Unknown period of time before the body was moved. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/3 "2014-02-24T15:27:46Z")
First: Whenever I hear ‘cadaver dog’ I hear _Ma Na Ma Na_. _Cadaver dog Doo-doo doo-doo-doo Cadaver dog Doo-doo doo-doo!_ OK, now that that’s out of the way… [Can cadaver dogs really sniff out 30-year-old remains?](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/04/etan_patz_search_renewed_can_cadaver_dogs_smell_30_year_old_corpses_.html) > [@](#): > > Police on Thursday revived their search for Etan Patz, a 6-year-old who disappeared in 1979 en route to a New York City bus stop, after a cadaver-sniffing dog recently detected the odor of human remains in a basement near Patz’s SoHo home. Can dogs really smell 33-year-old remains? > > Yes, if you have the right dog… The article says that researchers buried a \>30-year-old human vertebra 12 inches deep in a 150 x 300 foot plot, and several dogs were able to find it. It goes on to say: > [@](#): > > A variety of factors, however, mediate the strength of the death odor and how quickly it dissipates. Temperature, humidity, the softness or hardness of the ground, and the amount of degrading matter all play a role, as does the physiology of the dog. (A heavily panting pooch can’t scent very well.) So it certainly seems possible that some dogs could detect four-year-old remains. Actually, four years doesn’t seem that long. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/4 "2014-02-24T15:36:34Z")
We get it. You rob banks. ---
**Author:** ![Bonnienclyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@Bonnienclyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonnienclyde)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/5 "2014-02-24T15:42:54Z")
Very interesting. And exactly what I was looking for, thank you. Another question: Could a person’s throat be cut and not leave any blood? This would be in a house, and the victim immediately carried out in some type of covering, such as a blanket, rug, etc. Especially if the investigating officer wasn’t very vigilant? And if there was blood, and had been wiped up, would it still be able to be seen with the right equipment/tests? ---
**Author:** ![Bonnienclyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@Bonnienclyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonnienclyde)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/6 "2014-02-24T15:44:13Z")
That’s right, Leo. And only kill for my man! ---
**Author:** ![HipGnosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HipGnosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HipGnosis)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/7 "2014-02-24T17:00:45Z")
The longer the body was there, the more probable it’d be - as fluids would drain into the soil and decomposing gasses would seep into the soil. Providing the body isn’t in the worlds biggest freezer zip-lock… ---
**Author:** ![Bonnienclyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@Bonnienclyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonnienclyde)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/8 "2014-02-25T18:17:20Z")
Thanks, Hip. It was wrapped in something, but I think it was more like a “burrito” than a ziplock. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/9 "2014-02-25T21:00:24Z")
_How long will a man lie i’ the earth ere he rot?_ So apparently the answer is at least 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/10 "2014-02-27T09:36:08Z")
> [@Bonnienclyde](#): > > Another question: Could a person’s throat be cut and not leave any blood? This would be in a house, and the victim immediately carried out in some type of covering, such as a blanket, rug, etc. I would have said it was pretty unlikely. > [@Bonnienclyde](#): > > Especially if the investigating officer wasn’t very vigilant? And if there was blood, and had been wiped up, would it still be able to be seen with the right equipment/tests? [Luminol](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminol) can be used to detect [blood in soil](http://forident.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Detecting-Blood-in-Soil-after-Six-Years-with-Luminol-ACSR.pdf) for up to 6 years - probably more in an enclosed building/artificial surfaces. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/11 "2014-02-27T15:31:35Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The article says that researchers buried a \>30-year-old human vertebra 12 inches deep in a 150 x 300 foot plot, and several dogs were able to find it. . I don’t know that they’d be able to find a 30 year old vertebra buried for 30 years 12 inches deep though; I’d imagine that the kicker is that the ground is disturbed if you just go and bury an old vertebra, while if it’s been there for 30 years, it may be effectively sealed off, or permeated with soil compounds or whatever that might make it hard to smell for a dog. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/12 "2014-02-27T17:23:34Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The article says that researchers buried a \>30-year-old human vertebra 12 inches deep in a 150 x 300 foot plot, and several dogs were able to find it. Hopefully the dog handlers weren’t aware of where the vertebra was buried. If they knew, they could have unconsciously given signals to the dogs. It wouldn’t surprise me if cadaver dogs could find a body after decades had passed. My own Lab can detect from 20 feet away if another dog peed on our fire hydrant back in the '90s. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/13 "2014-02-27T21:18:46Z")
Trace material of biological origin can persist for a surprisingly long time. We recently watched a documentary on the finding of Richard III’s grave, in the course of which archaeologists came across a late-Victorian-era “thunder box” – apparently a sort of self-contained toilet – the stink of which was still evident even to human noses over a century later. That a dog could sniff out human remains after a few decades doesn’t surprise me a bit. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-cadaver-dog-still-find-a-body/682103/14 "2014-02-27T21:59:00Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Hopefully the dog handlers weren’t aware of where the vertebra was buried. If they knew, they could have unconsciously given signals to the dogs. That’s very true. No, the handlers didn’t know in the exercises that I’ve attended.