Day One
Tinsley and Bella worked in the rain until 9 p.m. the first night searching grids in the rubble-filled landfill.
“At night the scene resembled the movie Close Encounters. We went from circle to circles of hell. I prayed God would give me stamina to keep going. Bella had been very successful; in addition to human remains, we looked for guns, knives, memory computer components and airplane black boxes,” says Tinsley.
The rain was hard on the dogs as well as the search teams. Bella became chilled the first night and no dry area was available for down time.
“There was a K9 command post tent, but water was running through it. We requested a pallet from the National Guard and they brought us two. We asked for blankets or tarps and they brought us two brand new silk comforters for the dogs out of donated items. We made a platform for the dogs in the tent and set it up so that all dogs could use it. Once warmed, Bella was okay. The Army gave us decontamination wipes to clean off with before we left, so I started wiping Bella with those. A soldier saw what I was doing and gave me a case of wiped to take back to the ship. In the following days, we had to cope with extreme heat and wet the dogs to cool them down,” says Tinsley.
A jeep transport picked up the searchers at 10 p.m. and got them back to the ship by 11p.m.
“We had to go up a long gangplank, check in with security, go through a hatch, up a long ramp made for tanks, down the length of the ship, up steep steps, through another hatch and into our quarters behind the bow,” says Tinsley.
“We could go out on deck for air, as could the dogs. Any sheets or towels we used were thrown away as biohazard. To take dogs out to a grassy area from our quarters down a long concrete dock was a half-mile walk. I lost 8 pounds while I was there and it never came back.”

Searching Through the Rubble
Tinsley’s group was switched to second shift the following day, then rotated between first and second shift during their four-day mission. Three shifts worked around the clock with 3-hour breaks to allow the heavy equipment to be serviced.
“We were working in a continuous roar of machinery-sifters, caterpillars, bulldozers and backhoes. Large bulldozers were flying past us within 4 feet of the dogs. I had to fun three times from dozers. Fatigue was setting in on the operators. We worked searching for four days. By the time the handlers adapted to the scene, the dogs were exhausted,” says Tinsley.
Before the group left New York, NYPD boats took them to Ground Zero, where fire department chaplain gave them a tour of the haunting disaster site from every angle.
“After seeing the destruction up close, I could comprehend the material loss, but your mind refuses to comprehend the loss of life even when standing there,” says Tinsley. “One piece of steel fell from a crane and landed next to a welder cutting through beams while we watched. It triggered a collapse in front of us, but both welders walked away unhurt. One welder’s hands had to be pried off the torch. I don’t thing the public realized how many risks people there took trying to locate victims. Emergency personnel are trained to deal with bad situations, but not the construction workers, welders and ironworkers, and it showed on their faces.”
Tinsley says her rescue group felt privileged to have skills that were useful after such a horrendous disaster.
“Many people were frustrated because they wanted to help but didn’t know what to do. A fire department chaplain met a woman on a subway who was suicidal because she felt useless. But everyone can help-pray for responders for contribute to rescue organizations in your community. Volunteer rescue squads and fire departments need the help. Make a contribution to help your own area be ready to help you.”

K-9 Unit of Stewart County
The K-9 Unit assists local, state and federal agencies with searches for missing persons in wilderness areas, on land, in water or in collapsed structures. Search and rescue dogs can help find victims such as lost children; elderly persons or Alzheimer’s patients who’ve wandered away from homes or hospitals; lost hikers and hunters; victims of avalanches, earthquakes, floods, explosions, bombs, fires, airplane crashes, tornadoes or other disasters.
The unit doesn’t conduct criminal searches or felony apprehensions, but will assist with evidence searches and recovery operations, including homicide victims. At their own discretion, police officers who are members of the K-9 Unit may participate in felony searches.
The K-9 unit is organized as a department of the Stewart County Volunteer Fire Services. As an all-volunteer group, members are responsible for all expenses and aren’t paid for services to the community. Their reward comes solely from training and working with the dogs and assisting those in need. The group receives no official funding and relies on donations for needed emergency equipment and training.
The K-9 Unit was founded in 1993 and has participated in search and rescue operations throughout Tennessee and Kentucky. The group works closely with local rescue squads and sheriff departments, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, state police, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, the Kentucky Department of Emergency Management, the FBI and the U.S. Army.

Everyday Rescues
On July 18, 2002, the K-9 unit was called to respond to a rescue effort similar to many others in which they’ve participated over the years.
At 3: 30 a.m., Tinsley received a call from the Weakley County Sheriff’s Department. An 84-year-old Alzheimer’s patient was missing. Tinsley and her black Labrador, Raven, along with Michael Toombs and his golden retriever, Luke, responded. At 5 a.m., they arrived where the patient was last seen. Searchers at the scene thought the man had gone through a gate and wandered down a wooded hill covered with kudzu vines.
“Raven was scented from the man’s slippers by the door,” says Tinsley. “She went to the open gate and headed toward the back of the property. She led searchers to the back of the property into an old junk yard area, near a lagoon that’s no longer used.”
The incident commander in charge of the rescue effort asked Tinsley where he should send a helicopter to look for the missing man. She told him to check the field behind the property where Raven had gone.
“There was a delay before the helicopter came, so searchers known as ‘ground pounders’ set out on foot to check the field,” says Tinsley. “Around 8 a.m., they found a bare footprint and radioed for us to come. When we were three quarters of the way across the field, Mike’s dog, Luke, took off at a run toward the right corner of the field. Looking ahead of Luke, a police officer spotted the missing man.”
Tinsley says the dogs were excited to find the patient, who was scratched and bruised, but alive.
“It was a very happy ending. The man had been found before the dangerous heat arrived later in the day. The important part of a search is the teamwork of all searchers involved and this one worked out perfectly.”