Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
bend of the river. I can picture experienced, low-key Kathy quietly saying, “No, you need to
go back to the point of entry.”
Kathy started Strega at the point of entry at ten
A.M
., on the east bank of the river, where
it was warmer in midmorning, with current to move the scent around. It wasn't just the river
they had to deal with. A sheep-and-goat guard dog—powerful and leggy—headed straight
for them. He stopped at the last moment, retreating to a ridge just above the river. He looked
to weigh at least 125 pounds. “He watched the whole time we worked.”
Strega worked to the bend that the military suspected the paratrooper's body had gone
around. Then she tried to get into the river. She wasn't interested in going around the bend.
She moved back upriver and worked the rapids. She alerted on the shore, across from a churn-
ing area yards below where the men were last seen. It was her simple alert. A sit. It told Kathy
everything she needed to know, although she suspected the divers, who had never worked
with a dog, were probably hoping for more “yippie-yi-yo-ki-yay.” Strega was not a dog who
did backflips. Her sit, nonetheless, started to recalibrate everyone's thinking about where the
paratrooper's body might be.
The next day was a Sunday. Not a day of rest for anyone. The humidity and wind were
better, and Strega told everyone once again that she was pretty darned sure the paratrooper
had never made it past the bend in the river. She kept working upriver, closer and closer to
the boil.
The divers rigged a more complex system, a high line over the river, and put Kathy and
Strega on a rubber raft. Back and forth. Strega alerted right over the rapids, midway across
the river. Kathy and the divers looked down to see a deep undercut and a hydraulic boil.
Imagine a washing machine in its highest spin mode with lots of water. It keeps tossing
clothes around but never lets them escape. That's a hydraulic boil, more familiarly known as
“a drowning machine.” The British divers tried to search it, but the currents were too strong.
They did manage to snag the parachute and cargo box. Both had been trapped in the boil.
They had to trust Strega. A number of people had already died. And while the military
talked about a couple of different options—including putting some blasts into the
river—they decided to let nature take its course.
“K9 assistance was ended,” the report read. Strega had been utterly consistent over three
days on the same area of the river. You shouldn't ask a dog to tell you the same thing over and
over, seeking reassurance, like you do with people.
The military notified the villagers that there would be a reward if they watched the river.
Kathy, who knew her float chart by heart, provided the military with her estimates of when
villagers might see something, given the days since the paratrooper disappeared, what he was
wearing, and the temperature of the water. The hydraulic boil made it hard to know what
might happen.
