Amityville Movie: Part V

Easy…all we need to do is create an electronic map of our search area of about 8,000 square feet or so, detailing every single metallic object in the area, regardless of how deep in the mud it might be. Oh yeah, then electronically filter out all of the junk that has accumulated in the canal over the last hundred years or so and create a priority target list. Then put divers in the water to dig out our targets from under who knows how many feet of thick black mud. Easy…

The Amityville Saga Continues

In our first installment, we discussed the circumstances surrounding our involvement with Katco Media, the Hollywood production company responsible for the docudrama “Shattered Hopes: The True Story of The Amityville Murders”. We had agreed to assist them in attempting to locate a murder weapon that they believed had been disposed of in a body of water some 37 years ago.

The first step would be an examination of local ordinances to determine the legality of performing dive operations at the site. Finding no obvious restrictions, we used satellite imagery to assist us in defining our search area, basically covering the entire area that an adult male could conceivably throw a pistol from a bulkhead. With our search area plotted, it was time to go to the site and survey the conditions that would affect a full scale search, such as access to the water, tide and current, depth, obstructions and bottom type. We found relatively easy access to the canal from a bulkhead with about 5 feet of water, and typically dark canal water. Not really the nicest place to dive, but we were well prepared with hazmat suits courtesy of John Drewniak at Whites Diving, and full-face masks with wireless comm courtesy of Jerry Barrett at Air and Gas Technologies.

Our plan was to do a quick bottom survey of the entire search area with tethered divers using a “dock walk” pattern. In this manner we could cover the entire search area with little risk of the divers becoming disoriented in the dark water. The divers were guided around the entire search area and stopped every few feet to report depth and bottom conditions. They also used 3 foot long probes marked in 6 inch increments to measure the thickness of the mud and silt at each location. Topside support personnel used this information to create a detailed underwater map of the search area, an invaluable tool for a future full scale search.

By the end of the day we were able to report the following conditions; the search area was approximately 125 by 75 feet. The water depth ranged from 5 feet at the bulkhead to approximately 9 feet at a distance of 75 feet, with a smooth, gradual slope. Visibility was practically non-existent. Other than a single dock piling, there were no major obstructions on the site.  The bottom consisted of silt over harder mud, with the silt ranging from 9 inches in most areas to a few spots over 3 feet thick. The underlying mud went as deep as we could reach with our probes. Obviously, after 37 years, our murder weapon is going to be buried deep in the mud along with a lot of other junk. It’s time to start looking for some sophisticated electronics if we’re going to get this job done!

To be continued…

Amityville Movie: Part IV

…Easy…it sounded sooo easy… We are on site at the canal in Amityville, where Ryan Katzenbach, owner of Katco Media and producer of the docudrama “Shattered Hopes: The True Story Of The Amityville Murders” believes the killer, or killers, may have disposed of a weapon used in that infamous crime. It seemed like a simple plan; team up with Aqua Survey, one of the world’s preeminent electronic metal detection companies, do a one day electronic survey of the search area, and spend the second day excavating targets until we had the pistol in hand, or could conclusively prove that the pistol was not there. Easy…

The Atlantic Sturgeon Project

By Bill Pfeiffer

For the last couple of years we have had the privilege of providing diving services to the Sturgeon Tracking Project, managed by PhD candidate Keith Dunton under the supervision of Professor Mike Frisk of the School of Marine And Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University. At the outset, the project was relatively small in scope, with 21 acoustic receivers mounted on the seabed off of the south shore of western Long Island. These receivers tracked the movements of the protected Atlantic Sturgeon. By surgically implanting acoustic transmitters into carefully captured Sturgeon, much could be learned about the migratory patterns of the fish, hopefully helping scientists as they plan a course of action to help protect their dwindling population.

Amityville Movie Part VI

So far everything had been going pretty smoothly as far as the search for the pistol was concerned, we had our difficulties but had overcome them and continued to make steady progress, but there was one concern that had been lurking in the background that finally reared its head and need to be dealt with.

Hollywood Comes To Long Island

By Bill Pfeiffer

In March of 2011 I received an e-mail from Gail Bleckman, a producer working with Katco Media, a Hollywood motion picture production company. To make a long story short, she wanted to know if my company could assist them in locating a murder weapon from a very high profile case that had been underwater for 36 years.
Hoo boy!

Amityville Movie: Part III

In our first two installments we discussed the circumstances leading to our participation in the Katco Media docudrama “Shattered Hopes: The True Story Of The Amityville Murders”, and our initial survey of the site where the producers believe that the murder weapon may have been disposed. So now, let’s talk about how we intend to go in and search for a pistol that has been underwater for 37 years, and is likely to be buried under several feet of thick black mud.