Old case, new tools: applying new tech in the search for Carlson

It’s one of the last sunny mornings in early September, and in a remote field in eastern Grays Harbor, a small knot of men and women gather, talking quietly amongst themselves next to a pair of vans — one from the sheriff’s department, one from King County 4×4 Search and Rescue.

They stand in little knots with easy familiarity, with an occasional bark coming from the row of cars — all trucks or mid-sized, sensible SUVs, offroad-capable types — from the other members of the team.

They’re gathered there that morning to comb a region for any signs of Oakley Carlson, missing several years now, hoping to find what happened to her.

Oakley was last seen more than two years ago at the age of four after going missing from her family home in Oakville on Feb. 10, 2021.

Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World A searcher and his dog enter the treeline during an evidence search in the Oakley Carlson case.

“In the simplest terms we were looking for anything that is not natural to the area. Discarded items, markers, unnatural depressions, or human remains,” said Chief of Special Services Paul Logan of the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office. “This type of search in itself is very difficult in that anything may be a clue, and you don’t know what may be important until it is located and investigated.”

The autumn sun warms the field as the people brief assignments, comm channels, timing, marking, the drone plan, medical provision for all members of the team.

“Do we know where the nearest vet is?” one searcher asks, and is answered.

Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World A searcher stretches their legs before engaging during an evidence search in the Oakley Carlson case.

Searches can be executed in a number of ways. Early searches when Carlson’s disappearance came to light saw hundreds of people come out and sweep areas in the county flagged by the sheriff’s office as areas of interest, Logan said.

This morning, there’s less than a dozen humans on-scene. But there’s other ways to carry out a search than manpower. Dogs can smell things that a human never could, and drones can get a god’s eye view that affords a revealing perspective, catching anomalies humans might miss.

“Adding the components of the drones and area scanning software with (the search dogs) allows us to conduct a more thorough search of the area in real time. We are able to identify anomalies in the area in real time and direct human searchers and dogs to that exact location to evaluate any point of interest,” Logan said. “Every element we can add to this endeavor which reduces the guesswork helps us achieve our ultimate goal, which is locating Oakley Carlson.”

Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World A pair of search dogs wait eagerly to get moving during an evidence search.

With the day’s search briefed, dog handlers and members of the sheriff’s office drive out to their deployment line, parking their cars, and getting their dogs out and set before plunging into the treeline, disappearing into the dense foliage in just a few yards.

The dogs all have distinct personalities, searchers joke — some aren’t bothered who their handler on a search is, while others are more particular. Some are feisty, some are sweet, all of them are good dogs.

The search is of an area that the dry weather has made more accessible. Teams of a dog and handler cleared their sectors on the ground, while the drone flied a grid. The drone handlers program the width of the search lanes, the height and other factors, to best suit the terrain.

Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World Members of the King County 4x4 Search and Rescue team and the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office monitor the drone feed during an evidence search in the Oakley Carlson case.

As the drone is operating, it flags dozens of anomalies that its handlers, operating out of their King County Search and Rescue van, check out, and will pass on to the dog teams to check out. Things like anomalous colors, shapes or other things the software recognizes as being out of place get flagged. This leads to lots of false positives, but the drones are getting better, the team said.

“Progress was definitely made during this search. Often being able to rule out a location is helpful in that it allows us to focus our efforts on a different area, and we always hope the next area searched will be the one,” Logan said. “There are always next steps in this type of investigation. These will include additional interviews, analyzing electronic data and additional searches in areas which are still being identified during the ongoing investigation.”

The search didn’t turn out a result, Logan said, but the sheriff’s office isn’t deterred.

“This case will never be over until we locate Oakley Carlson,” Logan said. “We continue to investigate this case daily, and will continue to do so.”

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.