Charleston Police Detective Dana Rowsey breaks the surface of the ocean after a long dive to the wreckage of a ship that reportedly ran aground almost 300 years ago.
Officers from the Charleston Police Crime Scene Unit traveled to North Carolina to work with archeologists in their quest for artifacts at the wreckage of what is presumed to be The Queen Anne's Revenge that ran aground in 1718 at the Beaufort Inlet. The ship was the flagship of Blackbeard's fleet. The pirate was notorious for raids near the port city of Charleston, S.C.
Detective Dana Rowsey and Cpl. Herb Doss of the crime scene unit spent a week at the North Carolina site diving for artifacts, an activity similar to collecting evidence.
"The best way to see if we were worth our salt was to go work on a project similar to what we would be doing," Rowsey said. "We learned some good techniques on how to recover small things, like glass beads."
Rowsey was a commercial deep-sea diver before he became a police officer. He started diving during his time in the Army where he got his certification. Doss had never made an ocean dive before the North Carolina expedition.
"It's interesting. It's a different world underwater that most people don't get to see," Rowsey said.
Police often receive tips about evidence being dumped into the muddy waters of the Elk or the Kanawha rivers, Chief Brent Webster said.
"Retrieving this evidence can obviously help our investigations," Webster said.
Rowsey cited an example from a case several years ago to demonstrate why Charleston's police department needs a dive team. The Columbus Police Department was investigating a crime there but had reason to believe a key piece of evidence had been thrown into the Kanawha River. The Charleston department didn't have anyone then who could dive and retrieve the evidence, forcing Columbus to send its own dive team.
Rowsey decided to try to start a dive team for the local department. The chief was interested, especially since the police department already had some of the needed equipment.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Charleston police are looking at new ways to get hard-to-reach evidence in the city's waterways.
Officers from the Charleston Police Crime Scene Unit traveled to North Carolina to work with archeologists in their quest for artifacts at the wreckage of what is presumed to be The Queen Anne's Revenge that ran aground in 1718 at the Beaufort Inlet. The ship was the flagship of Blackbeard's fleet. The pirate was notorious for raids near the port city of Charleston, S.C.
Detective Dana Rowsey and Cpl. Herb Doss of the crime scene unit spent a week at the North Carolina site diving for artifacts, an activity similar to collecting evidence.
"The best way to see if we were worth our salt was to go work on a project similar to what we would be doing," Rowsey said. "We learned some good techniques on how to recover small things, like glass beads."
Rowsey was a commercial deep-sea diver before he became a police officer. He started diving during his time in the Army where he got his certification. Doss had never made an ocean dive before the North Carolina expedition.
"It's interesting. It's a different world underwater that most people don't get to see," Rowsey said.
Police often receive tips about evidence being dumped into the muddy waters of the Elk or the Kanawha rivers, Chief Brent Webster said.
"Retrieving this evidence can obviously help our investigations," Webster said.
Rowsey cited an example from a case several years ago to demonstrate why Charleston's police department needs a dive team. The Columbus Police Department was investigating a crime there but had reason to believe a key piece of evidence had been thrown into the Kanawha River. The Charleston department didn't have anyone then who could dive and retrieve the evidence, forcing Columbus to send its own dive team.
Rowsey decided to try to start a dive team for the local department. The chief was interested, especially since the police department already had some of the needed equipment.
Webster has been excited about the prospect of having a full-service department, and having a dive team is one of the many steps involved.
"A dive team would absolutely be an asset. As the largest municipal police department in the state and with two rivers flowing through the city, we strive to be a full-service agency," Webster said.
The Charleston Fire Department already has a team of divers, but their primary purpose is search and rescue, not collection of evidence. Police say they would perform some search-and-rescue missions as well if the fire department needed the help.
"I envision our dive team largely for evidence recovery in criminal cases. We have two rivers flowing through the city so the opportunities will arise to activate the dive team," Webster said.
"Having specialized units that provide a great service to the community is rewarding to the officers because it offers additional opportunities for professional development," Webster said.
Police purchased new diving equipment with $8,000 from the Edward J. Byrne Justice Assistance Grant and hope to have the team ready in the not-so-distant future. The grant is designed to pay for law enforcement investigation materials.
Equipment that had been previously purchased wasn't quite up to regulation, Rowsey said. The team hasn't officially been formed, but Rowsey says divers are still able to go out if needed.
"There's a lot of things underwater. You'd be surprised," Rowsey said. "A good place for a criminal to hide evidence is in the water, but not anymore."
This is a smart move on behalf of CPD. Can you imagine how many stolen vehicles and weapons end up in the Kanawha or Elk? Also, there is so much boat traffic on the river, especially during holidays. It's nice to know CPD could help in case of an accident or recovery effort. I'm surprised this has taken so long.
morning sick...(12:14am 10-21-2008)
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Add another $8000.00 to the 11 trillion in debt that the federal government is obligated for. Another monumental waste of tax dollars. Sounds like nothing more than a free dive trip at taxpayer expense.
