What goes into the search for a body – investigators weigh in

Before the search for Kelsey Berreth’s remains gets underway at the Fountain landfill this week, we asked investigators in Pueblo what goes into a search for human remains or a missing person.

The first things that come to their mind is a good lead or information.

“We base the initial search on credible information and we bring in whatever resources that we have available to us,” said Cpt. Eric Bravo of the Pueblo Police Department.

Bravo has worked on a number of searches throughout Pueblo. However, he would not comment on the searches for Kelsie Schelling’s remains due to a court required gag order for the Pueblo Police Department.

Yet Bravo did say that support during searches come from all over the state — cadaver dogs from Fort Collins, ground penetrating radars, or they can call on more boots on the ground if need be.

“Typically we can gather twenty, thirty, forty law enforcement officers to help in a search,” said Bravo. “So when we get beyond that we would ask for assistance. Also, there are some groups that go out and search on their own.”

One of those groups is Steel City Search Angels, which has conducted a number of their own searches for Kelsie Schelling. Organizer Laurie Ann Riddock says community support is essential to pull off any search.

“Some people have brought horses out, other times we’ve had rock climbers out there, even drones,” said Riddock. “It’s important to reach out to those resources that we think we might need.”

Hope is another attribute that Riddock says is vital for any search party. She hasn’t given up hope for Kelsie Schelling either.

Riddock urges people to give information on her whereabouts if possible. For the month of February, the reward money for any information leading to Schelling’s discovery is worth double from $50,000 to $100,000. You can go here for more details.

Pueblo investigators say every search has a unique set of challenges, and in the Berreth search, they see a big one: the landfill.

“The dogs hit on human decomposition, so there could be a dirty diaper or anything like that to lead them astray. So using a dog in that environment is not really productive,” said Cpt. Bravo.

On top of that, the landfill will make things very slow and methodical. It’s not a place you can easily search because of the debris, broken glass and possible syringes.

However, Bravo says investigators in the Berreth case have one important thing on their side: credible information pointing to the landfill.