Is it a gruesome murder scene? Or just a wet dock? Despite sensational headlines from websites such as the Sun, it appears the “murder scene” in Almere is nothing more than wet cedar wood caused by a dog.
In fact, local resident Jacquelina Koenan is quite sure that is was her dog, a story which was verified by local police. You can view the dock for yourself by using this KML file.
However, Google Earth has been used to assist in murder investigations over the years. The best example came a few years ago after the disappearance of Jennifer Kesse. While she still has yet to be found, there were some seemingly solid clues that came via Google Earth.
There was also the group effort that used Google Earth to try to track down the plane wreck of Steve Fossett in 2008. You can read about that story here. I think it’ll be a while before Google Earth is particularly useful in these kinds of situations, but as imagery quality and freshness continues to improve it’ll become an increasingly useful tool.
About Mickey Mellen
Mickey has been using Google Earth since it was released in 2005, and has created a variety of geo-related sites including Google Earth Hacks. He runs a web design firm in Marietta, GA, where he lives with his wife and two kids.