News

Actions

Sonar used in search for Tricia Todd's remains

Posted at 8:23 AM, May 29, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-30 11:30:33-04

UPDATE: Heather Holden, the head of DEEMI Search and Rescue, posted on the "Search for Tricia Williams Todd" Facebook page that the search was suspended Monday for safety issues. An alligator, snakes and feral hogs have been spotted in the area, she said. 

EARLIER STORY

Volunteers said they will continue the search for Tricia Todd’s remains Monday at the Hungryland Preserve.

The Peace River K9 Search and Rescue volunteer group is planning to use cadaver dogs to help with the search.

The Martin County Sheriff's office suspended their search for remains on Friday.

Near the makeshift memorial where Tricia Todd's family placed a cross and flowers, a volunteer with the Florida Sonar Search Team searched a murky canal over the weekend.

"Knowing where their loved one is, being able to have a little bit of peace," said Dan Griffith, with the Florida Sonar Search Team.

The sonar was used to scour water that was 12 feet deep.

"I can see shadows," said Griffith. "I can see whatever is down there. I'll know."

On Sunday, Sheriff William Snyder visited the site where deputies found some of Tricia's remains Thursday night.

"I wanted to ensure myself that the site where we exhumed her body was properly cleaned up and cared for, and that we'd done everything we could," said Snyder.

Snyder believes Tricia Todd's ex-husband, Steven Williams, may have dumped evidence in the canal.

"The biggest thing we might find in that canal would be the implement that he would have used to dismember her," explained Snyder. "Could have been a chainsaw, a saw equipment you could buy at a Home Depot."

Two deputies are monitoring the volunteer search in case the volunteers find anything.  It's a search that the sheriff says has been hard on everyone.

"For all of us, this has been a very difficult case," said Snyder. "I personally know the family, and so for us we want to do everything we can to bring closure to solve any mystery,"