Police dogs search for firefighter missing since 2006

PALM BAY, Fla.,None — Investigators brought out cadaver dogs to search for a firefighter missing from Brevard County for the past five years.  Brandy Hall disappeared on Aug. 16, 2006. She was a volunteer firefighter for the Malabar Fire Department.

Police dogs searched through a lot full of palmettos, but police say they did not pick up on anything. They also say they have not given up trying to find Hall's body or figure out what happened to her.

Police dogs trained to pick up the scent of human decomposition were led around acres of open land, looking for any trace of Hall.

Palm Bay police say they decided to bring out the team of dogs during the winter, when the dogs could cover more territory in cooler temperatures.

One area they searched was around the Malarbar Fire Station.

"Since that was the last place she was seen, I wanted to check that area just to rule that out," said Palm Bay Police Detective Ernie Diebel.

Hall vanished in August of 2006 after leaving her volunteer firefighter post in the middle of her shift.  Her truck was discovered submerged in a pond in Palm Bay with blood in the cab days later.

The cadaver dogs were used to search around that pond, too.  Investigators say they were not just looking for Hall's remains.

"There are some things that should have been in the truck that weren't there, and that's some of the things we've been looking for, too,” said Diebel.

Investigators say they still do not have any suspects, but they do plan to reinterview a Palm Bay firefighter who may have been the last person to talk to Hall.

"We are still talking to people, people who knew her and stuff.  It's just slow going," said Diebel.

Detectives started taking a fresh look at the case last August, around the fifth anniversary of Hall’s disappearance.  Investigators said they believe the case can be solved; they just need one break.

The areas around the fire station and the spot where her truck was found have been searched by people before, but investigators were hoping maybe this time around the dogs would smell something.

WFTV