“When you get out with your dog and you’re going into the woods, lakes, swamps, over fences, through backyards, it’s almost like a movie,” says K-9 handler Deputy Justin Fineberg. “When you find that person at the end it is such an incredible feeling, the endorphins, the adrenaline…You have this partner who can’t even speak and yet somehow you taught them to do this amazing thing. It’s overwhelming, it’s such a feeling of joy. That’s why we want to do this over and over again. Once you get into K-9 you want to stay forever.”

The new dogs and their handlers are graduating from K-9 School, and you’re invited to see them show off their new skills on Tuesday, November 14 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at England Brothers Park, 5010 81^st Avenue North in Pinellas Park. The K-9 teams will demonstrate obedience and apprehension skills, and then there will be entertaining skits, with some special surprises. Afterward, you can meet the dogs and pose for photos. And yes, our new bloodhounds Duke and Holmes will be there too!

K-9 instructor Fineberg has been leading the dogs and handlers through the 16-week school – and the human students have as much to learn as the canine ones. Fineberg is not just a teacher – he’s a student too. His dog Ronin recently retired, so now he’s training his new dog Beau. “Beau is a stud,” Fineberg said. “After Ronin, who was amazing, I was worried my new dog wouldn’t be as good. But it was a really easy transition. His drive is through the roof.” Beau is very friendly, but he’s definitely more motivated by work than love and pats. “He satisfies his drive through work, as opposed to other dogs who may get their satisfaction from attention from people.” On his first night on the road, Beau set a new PCSO record, apprehending his first suspect just 20 minutes into his very first shift. 

There are ups and downs in every class. Fineberg said that K-9 training – which is a continual process lasting far beyond the initial school – is as much a mental game as a physical one. One day your dog does what you tell them, then next they won’t. One day you make the catch, the next you don’t. “You have to be able to take your losses and forget about them, because if you dwell on them it rolls over into the next catch. You can’t be on a call and still be worrying about your last call.”

The dogs pick up on their handler’s moods, so self-control is vital. “When we train, our dogs know we’re comfortable so they’re comfortable. But when you get on a real call, a real track, all of a sudden your heartbeat changes, your breathing changes, you’re sweating… and the dog feels this and doesn’t know what to do. You need to be able to mentally control that and stay calm.”

Fineberg remembers his first track as a handler. “My adrenaline is pumping, my leg is shaking, I’m just trying to stay calm. It was at McMullen Booth and Tampa Road, a stolen vehicle. They bailed out and we had no idea where they went. We started tracking, I was all by myself just trying to figure it out, and somehow I found this guy hiding in the bushes. I got on the radio and I was screaming with excitement!” That addictive thrill never goes away. “That’s the thing about this job. Your first catch feels that good, but so does your hundredth catch.”

New handler Deputy Brennen Wede had a setback when his first dog wasn’t all they hoped for and was sent back. It was frustrating to have to start all over with a brand new dog, but after a mental reset he’s back on track and his dog is doing really well. “Joker is very hyper,” Wede says of his new K-9 partner. Man and dog may have that in common. “They always say the dog is meant for the handler!”

Wede had two main goals when he became a deputy – to join SWAT, and become a K-9 handler – and he’s achieved them both. “I think K-9 tryouts were even more difficult than the SWAT tryout. The physical aspect was about the same for both, but in K-9 the mental is even more challenging than the physical.” He had to put his SWAT training on hold to focus on K-9 training, but they held his spot on the SWAT team so he can go right back in once his dog is ready to go. 

“Fineberg is a great teacher,” Wede said. “He’s a wealth of knowledge. He’s been a handler for a long time, and this is the second school he’s taught.” The fact that Fineberg and Beau are going through the class themselves is a bonus. “That was really good for us as brand new handlers. We could see him doing the same things he was teaching us, with his own dog.” 

Most importantly, perhaps, they got to see him fail now and then. It helped them realize it wasn’t just them – every new dog goes through it. “Every dog has a unique training plan that takes into account both the handler’s personality and strengths, and the dog’s personality and strengths. Each dog has things they’re naturally better at.” 

Joker has so much energy that he initially had a hard time with obedience. Deputy Giancarlo Revilla’s dog Zorro, on the other hand, is a natural at obedience. “His dog’s obedience was amazing from the get-go, sharp since day one,” Wede said. “You can’t compare dog to dog. You can’t get frustrated that your dog isn’t getting something as fast as another dog. They’re all different, all have their own strengths. I think Joker is going to do really well once gets out there. When I get ready for work, he’s bouncing off the kennel walls, super excited. He wants to work.”

Revilla says the best part of the training process is seeing Zorro become more confident during training as he starts to understand what he’s being asked to do. At home Zorro is calm, loving, and quiet, but when it’s time to go to work, “It’s like a light switch. When he’s at work he is really ready to go and pulls me to get to the next exercise. Zorro’s drive is very high and he is always eager to do a good job. When he does, and gets his tug, he runs up and jumps on me for some pets and then does a confident strut with his tug in his mouth.”

A big part of training for the handlers is learning how to read their dog’s body language. The better they understand their dog, the more catches – and fewer bites – they get. Fineberg takes pride in the PCSO Canine Unit having a very low bite-to-apprehension rate, and it is all due to how they train the handlers. “We do such a good job of being able to read our dogs and know when we’re close to the hide that there’s usually no reason why someone should get bitten. When a dog gets close to a hide their behavior changes, they pull harder, their head comes up, everything gets so much more intense when they’re near the person they’re tracking. Once a handler understands the change they can know when they’re close.” That gives them the chance to challenge the person, let them surrender – which most people do when they see or hear the dog. 

Fineberg says that, adrenaline thrill aside, the most important part of being a K-9 handler is the satisfaction of doing something good for people. “Someone commits a crime and they take off. Maybe patrol can’t find them, detectives can’t find them, nobody can find them… but we can. Then I get to go back to the victim and tell them I found the suspect for them. I can give them that peace of mind. I can make you feel safe knowing that the person was caught.”

Fineberg and the new handlers make a long commitment to K-9 when they start with a new dog whose working life might be around six or seven years, but Fineberg says he’s in it for the long haul. “That’s why we have such a great unit, because everyone here feels the same way. They all want to work, they all want to get their dogs out. We’re fighting each other to get to a call.”

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Cold Case Unit was out at the Missing in Florida Day event, sponsored by the University of South Florida Institute for Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science. Its purpose was not only to spread awareness of missing persons, but to provide resources to the loved ones of those who have gone missing.

“The goal was to take this to the community rather than the community having to seek out law enforcement,” said Cold Case Corporal Ron Chalmers. Detectives and scientists gave presentations on the many investigative techniques used to find missing persons or identify John and Jane Does, while the families of missing people shared their stories.

The event was also an opportunity for those with a missing family member to give information to law enforcement, whether that was the very first step of filing a report, or providing updates such as photos, medical or dental records, or new leads on people reported missing long ago. One of the most valuable things a relative of a missing person can do is submit a DNA sample, and the Missing in Florida Day event gave them a chance to do that for free. When a body is discovered, often the only way to identify it is through genetic genealogy. The victim's DNA can be cross referenced against a database of voluntarily submitted DNA and if even a distant family relationship is discovered, a forensic genealogist can follow the family link to find a name for the unidentified subject. 

PCSO has had several successes in locating and identifying missing persons. Even in small and densely populated Pinellas County, there are plenty of places where a body can go unnoticed for years, or even decades. “We recovered one of our missing persons who was in the water off the Gandy Bridge. Their skeletal remains were in an area of dense vegetation.” The Bay Pines John Doe, later identified as Robert Ralph Higgins, was on the VA grounds, in the woods close to a popular boat ramp. Robert Helphrey’s remains had been in his vehicle in a small pond surrounded by a residential neighborhood since he vanished in 2006. A body can be just a few feet off the beaten path and not be found.

The event was a good opportunity to share information. Corporal Chalmers met with the Black and Missing Foundation, which helps bring attention to minority victims. He found out that they didn't have two Pinellas County missing women of color in their database, and provided them with information on Retha Hiers and Donyelle Johnson, who along with Clearwater resident Margaret Dash are all believed to have been killed by the same suspect. In 2022 PCSO led a massive multi-day excavation of an area where a tip suggested Retha Hiers’ body might be, but unfortunately she was not found. Cases often cross jurisdictional lines so when detectives and organizations that all care about missing persons come together they can combine their efforts. 

PCSO currently has 33 missing persons. Some of them are thought to be homicides. Some are missing boaters who went out and never returned, presumed to be lost at sea. But for many, we don't have any real idea of what happened. Delays in reporting can complicate the case. Jayme Engstrom wasn't reported for almost two years after she was last seen, so circumstances surrounding her disappearance are unknown. 

Corporal Chalmers has been working hard on his missing persons caseload, in addition to the unsolved homicides that are also part of the Cold Case Unit. Lately he's been delving deeply into the case of Raymond Rupp, who vanished in 2012, and also Robert Webb, who disappeared in 2015. When he mentioned in passing that it was almost Webb's birthday, I learned that he stays in close contact with the families of the murdered and the missing, calling or texting on the birthdays of the departed or the anniversary of a homicide. “I try to follow up with the families, let them know we're still thinking of them. You establish a relationship, and it is important to stay in contact.”

Erin H. Kimmerle, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Florida Institute for Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science, said that more than 140 people attended the Missing in Florida Day event. “Seven families of missing persons specifically filed new reports or updated existing reports,” she said, “including providing photos of the missing person, photos of tattoos, fingerprint cards, medical imaging records, DNA samples for CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) and genetic genealogy, and new family contact information. One of these cases was resolved as the missing person was found living elsewhere. One case was also submitted by a woman who flew here from Indianapolis to get the help she needed searching for her brother. I think this speaks volumes about our people in Florida who are willing to assist those most in need. We also presented six new forensic imaging and facial reconstructions that hopefully will result in people continuing to call in with additional leads.”

One of the most well-known missing persons cases in Pinellas is that of Kelly Rothwell. She's near and dear to our hearts at PCSO because she was a law enforcement recruit when she vanished, thought to be the victim of a homicide. Corporal Chalmers holds out hope that she'll be found one day. “I do this job because I believe we’re going to solve every case. I do this job because I believe we're going to find every missing person. If I didn't believe that, then I shouldn't be doing this job."