Search Dogs Stop at the Water’s Edge. A Florida Otter Doesn’t

In missing-persons cases, K-9 units traditionally lead investigators to the water’s edge. In late 2025, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office in Florida was taking that step into the water with Splash, a 2-year-old otter trained to detect human remains underwater.¹

Splash is believed to be the first otter in the U.S. trained for recovery missions, according to CBS News Miami.¹ WPEC described him as possibly the only known cadaver otter in the world.³

The work matters because the cases are hard. Sheriff John Budensiek said the county has one or two people a year go missing in bodies of water.² He also said many of those cases go unsolved.³

Who Splash works with

Splash, an Asian small-clawed otter according to WSVN, is part of the dive team of Peace River K9 Search and Rescue, and his handler is Michael Hadsell.² Hadsell and Splash work with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office on searches.

Hadsell told WPEC, as quoted by CBS News Miami, about the problem he is trying to solve:

“The problem is that we miss more recoveries than we get working on low-visibility diving and forensic diving,”

³

How an otter searches

Authorities said Splash releases air bubbles that capture scent and carry it to the surface. That helps him pinpoint areas of interest, so divers and investigators know where to focus.¹

“We see a lot of innovative technology, but this is really going back to basics: using an animal to do what it does best,” Budensiek said in the CBS News Miami report. “He works in his natural environment and detects things that don’t belong there.”¹

Budensiek said that if regular diving techniques can’t find a missing person right away, the office will call on Splash.²

Hadsell got Splash from a zoo owner in Arizona, according to a report on his interview with Popular Science. He trained the otter in kiddie pools filled with water and the scent of human remains.⁴

Florida water brings its own hazards. Because of the risk of alligators, Splash works on a tether and is tracked by spotters and sonar. His pay is salmon.⁴

What he had done by late 2025

As of fall 2025, officials said Splash had been deployed on more than 20 missions and had helped locate four bodies.¹³ Those figures come from Hadsell and officials.

Hadsell also said Splash gets requests from FBI offices and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.⁴ In late October 2025, law enforcement officers from across Florida gathered to watch him in a demonstration.¹³

According to WSVN, Splash is expected to have a working life of up to 10 years.²