Dive team training in Door County

DOOR COUNTY - Investigators from Northeast Wisconsin responded to an underwater crime scene in Door County Friday as part of a training exercise. Dive teams with several law enforcement agencies received hands-on experience in evidence collection techniques.

“The crime scene doesn't just stop on shore, it transcends underwater,” said Dive Rescue International Instructor, Jeff Morgan.

Morgan teaches this underwater CSI class.

“A lot of agencies across the U.S. simply retrieve the evidence without doing any type of search or documentation until it gets back to dry land,” said Morgan.

Morgan is showing these divers how to photograph, document, and secure an underwater scene.

“We've learned how long fingerprints last, how we can extract blood and hair samples while we're underwater to make sure we get the samples we want,” said Green Bay Police Dive Team member, David Van Erem.

The Green Bay Police Dive Team was just formed in 2005. Team Leader David Van Erem says that's why this training is so important.

“Up until now, when we brought stuff out of the water, we weren't really sure what could be done with it,” said Van Erem.

In 2007, the team searched the Fox River for UW-Green Bay student Mahalia Xiong. Her car was found in the river, her body inside.

“If we would have known some of these things we might have employed some of the techniques-extracting some of the water, trying to save some of the stuff before we moved the car, but with the amount of time she was in the water, I'm not sure how much would have been different,” said Van Erem.

What is different in Friday's training are these new full face dive masks equipped with two way radios. They replace the old communication technique of line pulls.

“Instead of communicating - I found something - now we can tell them exactly what we're seeing,” said Green Bay Police Department Dive Team member, Jeff Stone.

Whether it's an accident, a murder, or a drowning, a thorough investigation can help piece together what happened.

“Past history has shown that this happens. Cars go in the water, people go in the water. You've got to be read,” said Stone.

Law enforcement dive teams from Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Milwaukee, and Superior took part in the exercise. The dive team training is funded by a $60,000 grant provided by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Assistance.