Featured Image Credit: Mark Hemans via Wikimedia
By Emily Persico
Mike Berry dove deeper. Completely engulfed in darkness, he skimmed his hands through the muck methodically. Trailing him closely was his partner in crime-solving. The two of them go at it for hours, sometimes even days, scouring the bottom of a lake, sea or river like lawn mowers through grass for a piece of evidence to solve a crime.
Berry is an underwater criminal investigator. He’s been in the game for 35 years, and the story he has to tell is one of danger, grime and success. His organization, Underwater Criminal Investigators, trains and certifies experienced law enforcement officials to help recover evidence, bodies and vehicles.
“The case many times hinges on these divers and their ability to not only scuba dive, but to search in these very harsh conditions and find [a target object],” explains Berry.
Berry and other underwater criminal investigators face dangerous conditions once down under, ranging from contaminated waters to unwelcoming snapping turtles.
“I’ve had fish take a chunk out of my lips before,” Berry says, but that doesn’t stop him or his crew.
Underwater criminal investigators find and hand over any piece of evidence that could hold in a court of law. In most cases, a side-scan sonar is used to map the waterbody’s floor and find larger objects like cars and bodies. Smaller items, including guns, jewelry and bones from people long deceased are found by divers like Berry who sift through the muck with their hands.
“I’ve had a number of murderers that have told me, ‘You’ll never find it.’” Berry takes this as a personal challenge, and find “it” he does.
“You have police departments that are depending on you,” emphasizes Berry.
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