Search and Recovery Consulting LLC

09/04/2026

We just wrapped up a great two-day Sonar Search & Recovery Course at the Great Lakes Regional Conference for Tribal Conservation Officers.

We had 23 officers attending from Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, and New York. It was a great group and a great experience for everyone involved.

Day 1 – Classroom Training

We spent the first day learning how to properly set up and fine-tune sonar specifically for locating drowning victims. I had a Humminbird unit set up in the classroom so everyone could get hands-on experience working through the important sonar settings and understanding what those adjustments actually do.

The officers also worked with some of my recorded sonar data from actual searches. Their job was to review the data, interpret what they were seeing, and locate the victims hidden within the sonar recordings.

I also shared videos and case studies from a number of my past searches and recoveries. Real-world cases are an important part of my training because they show not only what a drowning victim can look like on sonar, but also the challenges we face during an actual search.

Day 2 – On the Water

The second day was all hands-on. We worked with Humminbird, Garmin, and Lowrance sonar systems so the officers could apply what they had learned to the equipment they may actually be using in the field.

I set up a realistic missing-person scenario that they had to work through from the beginning—developing their search and using sonar to locate the target.

We also put my custom sonar training mannequin, “Waldo,” in the water. The officers had to search for and successfully locate Waldo using their sonar systems.

Once the target was located, we took the training another step. We practiced placing a dog kennel on the bottom as close as possible to the target. This gives the ROV operator or divers a much easier reference point when they go down to verify and ultimately recover the victim.

The goal of this course is not simply to teach someone how to turn on a sonar. It is to teach officers how to understand their equipment, fine-tune their settings, interpret what they are seeing, develop an effective search, and ultimately locate a drowning victim when a family is waiting for answers.

A big thank you to the Tribal Conservation Officers organization for inviting me to share my knowledge and experiences. I really enjoyed working with this group of officers and appreciate their willingness to learn and improve their search and recovery capabilities.

Thank you to everyone who attended and made these two days such a great experience.

08/25/2026

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Recap on the Lake Hartwell Search for David Seymour

I just wanted to take some time to reflect back on the search for David Seymour and recognize all the people who helped make this recovery possible.

When David's family first reached out to me about him being missing, I knew this was going to be a very difficult search. I knew Lake Hartwell and what we would be facing beneath the surface.

I made my first successful recovery on Lake Hartwell back in 2017. Then last year, I returned to search for another man who had gone missing without a witness. We searched for approximately 12 days over two separate trips. Despite putting a tremendous amount of time and effort into that search, we were unable to locate him.

Because of those experiences, I know all too well what Lake Hartwell holds beneath the water.

The underwater forest.

The depth, combined with acres of standing timber, makes searching this lake extremely difficult. These types of searches require the right equipment, a lot of experience, patience, and most importantly, a lot of help from dedicated people.

That help starts long before we ever leave home.

Gary Ammann puts a lot of time into helping keep our equipment maintained and ready to go. When that call comes in, we need to know that our equipment is ready for whatever we may face.

Then there are the volunteers who take time away from their jobs and families to travel with us. There is a tremendous amount of heavy lifting involved—loading all of our equipment onto the truck and boat before leaving, and then unloading and setting everything up again once we arrive on scene.

A big thank you to Dave Smith for helping make all of that happen.

My good friend and brother from the diving community, Buck Buchanan of Dive 911 in Florida, met us at Lake Hartwell and was a big part of our success. Having experienced people working together makes all the difference on a difficult search like this.

Jenny Pierce and Kelly Star of Mitchell's Light, a nonprofit organization from the area, were also incredible. They helped arrange a place for us to stay, coordinated meals and accommodations, and in many cases paid the bills themselves. Jenny joined us every day during the search and helped wherever she could.

We also received tremendous support from the local community.

Faith and Fork donated a meal to our team, and Big Water Marina donated our cabin for the week. Those acts of generosity mean more than people may realize when a team is away from home working long days on the water.

I also want to thank the Hart County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for providing us with the search information we needed and for their assistance throughout this mission.

To everyone who helped us—whether you were on the boat, maintaining equipment, moving gear, providing information, arranging lodging, preparing meals, donating accommodations, or supporting us from behind the scenes—thank you.

This recovery wasn't accomplished by one person.

It took a lot of dedicated people working together toward one goal: bringing David home to his family.

That is what makes good things happen.

My sincere condolences go out to the Seymour family and David's friends. I hope that bringing David home provides some measure of peace and allows the family to begin the difficult process of saying goodbye.

Rest in peace, David Seymour.

08/17/2026

HELP BRUCE’S LEGACY REACH OUR FINAL $20,000 GOAL This past Saturday evening,… Keith Cormican needs your support for Support Bruce's Legacy's Mission Today

07/16/2026

A mid week boat motor recovery up in northern WI. When Bulldog Offroad Recovery gets a job that they need help with locating, that when he calls us. A brand new motor came off a guys brand new boat, makes for an adventure for us. Thanks to Gary A for helping out.

07/14/2026

ERDI Training in September. Call today @ 715-896-0726

07/10/2026

06/18/2026

Oceanbotics ROV demo with St. Charles Il Fire Department.

06/08/2026

Congratulations to Our New SDI Instructors!

Please join me in congratulating Robert Remmel and Rob Landquist from Stillwater Diving on successfully earning their SDI Instructor certifications!

After seven days of intensive training, their hard work, dedication, and commitment to excellence paid off as they successfully passed the Instructor Exam. Achievements like this are always rewarding to witness, and I take great pride in helping students reach this important milestone in their diving careers.

A special thank you goes to Stephanie, owner of Stillwater Diving, for her assistance throughout the course while also working toward her Instructor Trainer rating. I would also like to thank Marc Morale for participating in the Instructor Exam and contributing to a successful training week.

Congratulations again to Robert and Rob on this outstanding accomplishment. I look forward to seeing the positive impact you'll have on the diving community!