Aug 29 2006 7:48AM
KXMCTV Minot
It's been more than three months now since Raechelle Smith was last seen alive.
The Minot three-year-old was last seen with Leigh Cowan a friend of the family who turned up dead on the Upper Souris Wildlife Refuge days after her dissappearence.
His death was ruled a suicide her whereabouts have been a mystery ever since.
Even after national attention and plenty of leads the case went cold and
authorities were forced to stop their search.
But hope isn't lost.
As Perry Olson shows us the search continued over the last 48 hours with some help from man's best friend.
She wouldn't make a great pet...
(Denny Adams - Dakota Territory Search Dogs) "They're not a neat animal. They slobber, and smell bad."
But today just west of the Minot Air Force Base a bloodhound like Molly here was the perfect tool in the continuing search for Raechelle Smith of Minot.
(Denny) "Scent evidence is the most prominent evidence at crime scenes but it's the most overlooked because you can't see it or take pictures of it."
(Stephanie Smith - Raechelle's Mother) "Dogs just get their nose right in there
and go around thick trees and stuff. Its nice knowing that they are going
through and checking everything."
Molly a three year old bloodhound belongs to Denny Adams of Dakota Territory Search Dogs a South Dakota company that is here at no cost to the family working to find little Raechelle.
(Denny) "We feel we have to do this because we have such a good resource in the bloodhounds in working older cases and cold cases."
The dogs work the water...
(Denny) "When she sticks her nose in there that's when she checks for scent."
and the ground...
(Denny) "When we are doing wooded areas we have clothes from Raechelle and even at this stage we like to give the dogs a scent article."
covering as much area as possible hoping to get a hit.
(Denny) "Molly...show me!"
Adams and the Smith family are hoping that pinpoint accuracy can eventually lead to a solution in this mystery.
Northwest of the Minot Air Force Base Perry Olson, KX News.
This type of search is something Denny Adams and his crew have plenty of experience.
They were involoved in the search for Dru Sjodin and even have a dog named Dru in her honor.
They also partcipated in the search for the Atlanta Olympic bomber.
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