Dog Smells Remains; None Found

received a tip last week that they’d find a body just south of next to a garage in the Powder Springs area, and a cadaver dog seemed to verify the claim.

But as authorities dug and dug Friday next to the detached garage on New Macland Road, they found nothing, Cobb County police spokesman Sgt. Dana Pierce said.

“There’s nothing that panned out other than a dog hitting on that spot,” he said. “If truly there was a body there at some point, it’s not there now.”

Cobb police were searching for the body of a person missing since 2004.

The case stems from a police agency in Florida, which is where the tip came from, and local authorities checked for the body to help the Florida agency, Pierce said.

Because that agency is handling the case, Pierce was unaware of many of the details, including the name and age of the person and whether there are any suspects.

Pierce did know that the person missing was friends with a man who rented the garage. Together, they “invented things,” he said, adding that he didn't know what they invented.

“Ultimately, the buddy who he invents things with comes up missing,” Pierce said.

Local authorities began digging about 11 a.m. Friday after the dog gave signs that it had sniffed human remains.

“The unusual thing here is the GBI’s dog did hit on that spot,” Pierce said, “and that dog doesn’t smell pizza, it doesn’t smell animal remains—it sniffs human remains.” 

A crew started with picks and shovels, but to get deeper, a Bobcat was brought in, Pierce said.

They dug throughout the day “to no avail,” he said. “There was nothing found.”

Going forward, Pierce said Florida authorities will likely go back to the tipster for questioning.

Correction: It was originally reported that the dog involved was from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The dog is instead used by police on a request basis.