Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, July 28, 2011

News of the home invasion at the farm home of Congressman Leonard BOSWELL near Lamoni on Saturday, July 16, has been reported nationally by many media. What people may not know, however, is that Murphy, the Ringgold county K-9 dog, played a part in the investigation.

At at approximately 10:45 p.m. on July 16, an armed intruder entered the home of Congressman Leonard BOSWELL. The Congressman's daughter, Cindy BROWN, was first physically assaulted and held at gunpoint while the intruder demanded money. Hearing BROWN'S screams, Congressman BOSWELL entered the entryway and attempted to disarm the intruder, causing an altercation where the three fell down the stairs. Congressman BOSWELL'S wife, Dody, came in from her bedroom and yelled down the stairs at the intruder, who then ran up the stairs and put the gun to her neck. About this time BOWELL'S 22-year-old grandson Mitchell BROWN came running into the room with a loaded shotgun, which caused the intruder to run from the residence and into the fields around the house.

Congressman BOSWELL sustained minor scrapes and bruises including a broken rib, but there were no serious injuries to any of the BOSWELL family.

Arrested for the intrusion was David Palmer DEWBERRY, 20, formerly of Lamoni with a last known address of Fremont, NE, who was arrested in Independence, MO, on Tuesday, July 19. Also arrested for having a part in the incident was Cody John ROLLINS, 19, of Lamoni, who was arrested at his family home. Numerous charges have been filed against the two young men.

The Iowa Highway Patrol called in sheriff's deputy Shannon ARENDS and his dog Murphy soon after the initial incident. ARENDS, along with sheriff's posse member Tim CREVELING, and Murphy soon picked up the trail of the intruder who had run into the dark in a field surrounding the residence.

Murphy tracked the intruder for over a mile to the place in the road where the intruder was picked up by a vehicle. Along the way, Murphy discovered key pieces of evidence, though what the dog found is not being released at the present time by law enforcement authorities.

It was a hot night and no breeze and by the time the dog and handlers finished the one mile trip they were a bit overheated, ARENDS noted.

Murphy is probably known best for his drug finding skills, but he has tracking and evidence finding skills that are just as important, ARENDS noted.

When the dog finds something with the scent of the person he is tracking, he stops, is careful not to disturb the piece of evidence, but puts his feet on both sides of it to show where it is.

Murphy has been able to find things as small as a .22 shell casing. In fact, in his training, a paper clip or an ink pen that has been handled by a person the dog is searching for can be found in an open field, Arends said.

"Metal doesn't hold odor as long as many other types of items, but Murphy has been able to find metal objects when needed," ARENDS said.

When Murphy is on a search and begins to come close to the person he is searching for, he stops and sniffs the air, according to ARENDS. This is a warning to the handler that the person is close, and it is at this point that ARENDS would call out to the person being sought, asking them to come out and warning that the dog will be coming in if they don't, in cases where a person is suspected of having commited a crime.

In the BOSWELL search, ARENDS said he was not sure what they might find. They were tracking an armed intruder in the dark and that can be very dangerous. ARENDS is sure that Murphy will come to his aid in case of a threatening situation, however. The intruder was already gone when the dog and handlers came to the end of the trail this time. Finding the trail that the intruder took, however, is important. It can establish the fact that a vehicle on the road was how the intruder left the scene and in this case helped connect the dots with evidence found along the way.

ARENDS is justifiably proud of the efforts of Murphy in many kinds of situations.

"He has a smelling capacity that is extraordinary," ARENDS said.

At a recent certification, one of the jduges said that Murphy was one of the most outstanding drug and recovery dogs he had ever seen. Murphy has been awarded for making a difference in the illegal drug investigations that he has been involved in Ringgold and surrounding counties. People in the area are aware of the reputation of Murhpy's ability to find drugs and the drug problem seems to have lessened a bit in the county with the help of the dog.

AREMDS noted that in one case, when a car was pulled over and the person found that it was officer ARENDS who was stopping him, he just told ARENDS where the drugs were before the dog was even taken out of the car because he felt the drugs would be found anyway by Murphy.

Murphy is also invaluable in building searches such as when a break in at a school is suspected. Murphy can search the building much faster and more efficientlythan bringing in a lot of manpower to do the job. He also can keep the danger to the searchers to a minimum.

In cases where a child or an older person with Alzheimer's disease may be lost, Murphy is also trained to do tracking. One of the certification tests is to have a subject being tracked walk through a playground, which has just been emptied of playing children, to see if the dog can differentiate the trail from all the other scents in the area. Murphy handles this test with flying colors with his keen sense of scent.

When people see Murphy in a patrol car on a hot day, they can rest assured that the dog is being taken care of. The vehicle is left running so the air conditioning stays on and there are backup alarms if there is a problem with the temperature in the vehicle. Whether Murphy is needed in Ringgold county, or to help in surrounding counties as in the BOSWELL investigation, ARENDS said the dog is a welcome tool to help law enforcement do their jobs more effectively.

Photograph courtesy of Mount Ayr Record-News

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, July of 2011