{"id":125962,"date":"2018-11-14T07:00:32","date_gmt":"2018-11-14T15:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=125962"},"modified":"2022-04-03T16:15:37","modified_gmt":"2022-04-03T23:15:37","slug":"real-time-gis-ensures-property-thoroughly-searched","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/real-time-gis-ensures-property-thoroughly-searched","title":{"rendered":"Rallying Around the Mission\u2014Closure for the Family"},"author":3302,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[211,1051],"tags":[136212,136222,1691,136232],"industry":[],"esri-blog-category":[478532],"esri_blog_department":[478242],"class_list":["post-125962","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-public-safety","category-real-time-gis","tag-cold-case","tag-crime-investigation","tag-situational-awareness","tag-wide-area-search","esri-blog-category-analytics","esri_blog_department-public-safety"],"acf":{"video_source":"","video_start":"","video_stop":"","short_description":"Real-time GIS connected the efforts of everyone and provided confidence that the property was thoroughly searched.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":null,"file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<em>Part 3 of 3\u2014Alabama Cold Case Crime Investigation<\/em>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Key Takeaways\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Real-time tracking allowed searchers to see coverage gaps and double back<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Aggregating searchers\u2019 tracks gave everyone confidence that nothing was missed<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Technology comforted the family by illustrating the level of care<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<em>Read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/gone-twenty-years-but-not-forgotten\/\">Part 1 for background on the missing woman<\/a>\u00a0and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/connecting-searchers-cold-case-search\/\">Part 2 for details of the search<\/a>.<\/em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs investigators closed their search of 300 acres in rural Alabama, looking for the remains of Traci Pittman Kegley, a young mother who went missing more than 20 years ago, they felt they had pored over the entire area. This extensive search applied a new level of real-time geographic information system (GIS) technology to coordinate all activities and ensure their efforts were comprehensive.\r\n\r\nWhile the team was reflective about what they had learned, they were quick not to claim too much.\r\n\r\n\u201cShe\u2019s still missing, so we\u2019re not beating our chest over this,\u201d said Jay Moseley, director of the Alabama Fusion Center. \u201cWe felt so confident that we covered the land that we wanted to show the family.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe family was at the center of the minds of all the searchers.\r\n\r\n\u201cThese folks are just really nice people, and I know it's been frustrating for them,\u201d said District Attorney Randall V. Houston, who serves Elmore, Autauga and Chilton Counties in Alabama. \u201cThe family was thoroughly impressed and so appreciative to see the number of people involved and the technology brought to bear.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe victim\u2019s mother told television reporters that her emotions had been up and down over the past 20 years, so she thought she could keep them in check. However, she said she was affected by the number of people who demonstrated how much they care."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":125992,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<strong>Some Hope<\/strong>\r\n\r\nOn Thursday, the final day of the search, cadaver dog teams had swept the whole property and searchers had covered every last inch of ground.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt was amazing to get the real-time picture of where all the searchers had been,\u201d said Ty Gober, retired battalion chief with Birmingham Fire &amp; Rescue Service, and the coordinator for the ground search. \u201cWe were able to see a couple of holes caused by the terrain and it allowed us to go back and collect full coverage.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe only ground left to cover was a five-acre pond where a cadaver dog had sensed something. Four dive teams made a difficult dive and brought up some possible evidence.\r\n\r\n\u201cYou have to understand that the pond where we found this was almost completely full of deer bones,\u201d District Attorney Houston said. \u201cThere were thousands of deer on that property, and a lot of them died in the water. So, I'm fairly confident that what we're going to have is going to be deer bones, but forensics couldn't identify it at the time, so we sent it to the lab.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":126002,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<strong>Media Megaphone<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe search effort involved a lot of media outreach to encourage people to come forward with an eye-witness account or a memory of something suspicious they had seen around the time of the victim\u2019s disappearance.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe set up daily briefings for the media at 4 pm, and we would give them a piece to put on TV,\u201d said Capt. Joe Herman of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), the search commander on the case. \u201cThe area around the command post is a very small community and when we arrived we brought in large towers, ATVs, landed helicopters, and brought in a lot of resources. Everybody wanted to hear something about what we were doing every day.\u201d\r\n\r\nTelevision spots highlighted the work of cadaver dogs and volunteer searchers, and the capabilities of the mapping technology used in the command center.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe amount of attention it gave the case after all these years brought people forward, and we got more information than we had before we started,\u201d District Attorney Houston said."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":126022,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<strong>Sharing the Capability<\/strong>\r\n\r\nLaw enforcement and search and rescue personnel at the scene shared their appreciation for how far technology has come since the initial search started 20 years ago.\r\n\r\n\u201cI'm not a technical guy, I put people in jail for a living,\u201d Capt. Herman said. \u201cIn 26 years, I've never walked away from a search feeling more confident that we covered everything we needed to cover. We only had one shot at this.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe GIS tools aided in both thoroughness and efficiency of the search, investigators said.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe had planned on being there a full week,\u201d said Jared Bostic, deputy Geographic Information Officer for the state of Alabama. \u201cWe were able to search the entire property completely within four days.\u201d\r\n\r\nMany searchers have shared details with peers about how maps, apps, and real-time capabilities aided the effort.\r\n\r\n\u201cI want to go around and have a meeting with the sheriff of every county and the police chief in every town to tell them if something like this happens again, here's the resource that should be applied,\u201d Capt. Herman said.\r\n\r\nALEA is applying the coordinated use of GIS for security at schools and large public events such as the upcoming governor\u2019s inauguration.\r\n\r\n<strong>Family Still in Focus<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThroughout the in-depth examination of the 300-acre property, everyone involved maintained clarity about the purpose of the search.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe sole goal was to try to give that family closure,\u201d Chief Gober said.\r\n\r\nThe investigation is ongoing. Data and details found during the property search could still be a help if ever there is a trial.\r\n\r\n\u201cThere\u2019s nothing we want more than to give her parents an answer,\u201d District Attorney Houston said. \u201cSo, we\u2019re going to continue to work it.\u201d\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPart one of this series <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/gone-twenty-years-but-not-forgotten\/\">sets the scene<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/connecting-searchers-cold-case-search\/\">Part two of this story<\/a> details the methods used in the search. Learn more about the many ways that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/public-safety\/overview\">GIS supports public safety<\/a>."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Center","content":"<strong>Blanketing the Area<\/strong>\r\n\r\nA few fast facts about the search\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>169 cellphones issued to search teams<\/li>\r\n \t<li>32 miles flown by drone, with 2,200 photos captured<\/li>\r\n \t<li>1,507 human miles walked<\/li>\r\n \t<li>390 miles covered by the 15 cadaver dog teams<\/li>\r\n \t<li>137 points of interest found<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[174571,174631,174531,174641,174521,174511,174581,174541,174611]},{"acf_fc_layout":"pdf","file":191102}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - 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