Meet Splash! Arizona’s Unique New Police Tool

The K-9 unit is a vital part of any operating police force. Dogs are incredible trackers, and their abilities have helped police find victims, evidence, and missing persons for years on end.

Despite their talent, most dogs become stumped when a body of water is involved in the crime, which is why Arizona police have a new project.

Something Smells Fishy

Mike Hadsell has been a search and rescue diver for years, and he began noticing an issue with their program. Dogs can only get you so far, once they've sniffed out the general area on the water, they become nose blind, and rely on the human divers to find whatever they're looking for.

Mike then had an idea. He remembered reading that otters are the only mammals that can smell while underwater, and wondered why they don't give them a shot at what dogs can't do.

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Splash the Otter

To test this theory, Splash the Otter was chosen. He's an Arizona native, from Wildlife World Zoo, and was donated to Peace River Search and Rescue in Florida. There, he's been put to work, training his skills.

Despite popular claims, otters don't actually "smell" water, they're smelling their own breath through the air bubbles they exhale.

He's been incredibly promising, being able to sniff out markers, follow trails, and easily lead the search teams to exactly where they need to be. While he's still mostly pool trained right now, they believe that within a few months Splash will be out on the case, bringing some Arizona hospitality to the sunshine state.

[NBC12]