Underwater crime scene investigations

No One Noticed

by Kay Nimitz Smith

Book 2 in the Jack Diamond Mystery Series

now available on Amazon!!

Book 2

Someone asked another intriguing question this week 

and I thought I'd share the answer.

How does underwater crime scene investigations and scuba diving

 play a role in your new book?

That's a great question!

For those of you who have read my first book, Diamonds for Diamond, you'll remember that our protagonist, Jack Diamond, is a detective for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO). He is *ALSO* the head of the MCSO's Dive Rescue and Recovery Team.

And before I go any further, yes, in real life the MCSO has a Dive Rescue and Recovery Team. Yes, the folks who dive for them are amazing. They do great work!! Sometimes they're saving lives, other times they're doing underwater crime scene investigations, recovering weapons, evidence, cars, and dead bodies as the needs arise.

So, back to Jack Diamond.

In my first book, Diamonds for Diamond, a serial killer is on the loose, dumping his dead bodies in various bodies of water throughout the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Jack Diamond and his team perform underwater crime scene investigations, scuba diving in the black water conditions of the Columbia River, the Willamette River, and other bodies of water, to recover the victims' bodies and various evidence associated with those crimes.

Jack and his MCSO Dive Rescue and Recovery team are back into action throughout the book No One Noticed. And although the scuba diving and under water crime scene investigations play a smaller role in this book, there are several intriguing scenes throughout the book involving underwater crime scene investigations.

I have done extensive research regarding these crime scene investigations. All my underwater scenes have been thoroughly "vetted" by a specialist who used to perform those types of blackwater scuba diving investigations. And although I have yet to go scuba diving myself, I finally got my first official snorkeling experience in the Indian Ocean just a few weeks ago. The visibility in the waters around Lembongan Island is a gajillion times better than that of the Columbia River, but hey, it's a start!!

Here is a picture of my favorite scuba diver (and underwater crime scene specialist) off the coast of Menjangan Island a few weeks ago (October, 2019):

And here is a picture of my favorite scuba diver under the Columbia River:

hahahahahaha

So it's not really a picture of him under the Columbia River. The water isn't that clear. I could never have been able to get such a great picture. Seriously. Visibility is less than a foot. No bueno for pictures. Or visibility. And the lack of visibility makes it exceptionally difficult and challenging for his team to do underwater crime scene investigations. But they do. Mostly by feel. 

And they're awesome.

Can you imagine how incredibly challenging it must be to locate a dead body, under water, without visibility?!? They use these incredible search patterns, lead lines, under water communications gear; they try to avoid kicking up the silt, and they feel around, hoping (and sometimes not hoping) to find something. 

One time my most favorite scuba diver described a search in which he was seeing absolutely nothing under the water, and he felt something. Something suspiciously like a bone. A vertebrae. He knew it felt human. He'd found cow bones before, but they're bigger. So he popped it into his pouch and kept on looking, because that's not what he had been searching for. Turns out they believe the neck bone was the bone of a human skeleton from many years before that they believe had floated downstream from an ancient Native American burial ground located near the Columbia river.

He has also told me stories about finding something rather gruesome through his scuba gloves, but not knowing exactly what it was until he took a steadying breath and brought the item right up next to his face to find out what it was. Sounds down right gruesome to me!! What a horror nightmare.

I am equally fascinated by the thought of his team recovering bodies that have been in the water a very long time, relieved that their families can have closure and being able to bury their loved ones; and sheer mortification and horror at the idea that water critters have nibbled upon these bodies, which is great for the ecosystem, but rather terrifying for the poor soul who has to try to scoop the water logged body into a body bag, hoping not to lose a toe bone that is apt to float away.

So yes. Underwater crime scene investigations. I write about them in my books. I find them fascinating. And unique. And a whole realm of crime scene investigations that are rarely, if ever, discussed in murder mystery books. 

So there you have it.

If all y'all have more questions, please don't hesitate to post them. 

I'll answer them along the way!

Meanwhile, please go and buy my book.

And then leave lots of great feedback!! 

No One Noticed

(Book 2 in the Jack Diamond Mystery series)

Here is a closer look at the entire book cover for book 2,
for those of you who are interested:

* * * * *

Buy my books!

Both books are available in paperback and kindle versions

Diamonds for Diamond 
(Book 1 in the Jack Diamond Mystery series)
and
No One Noticed

(Book 2 in the Jack Diamond Mystery Series)