ERWIN, Tenn. (WJHL)– The Unicoi County Search and Rescue Squad sprang into action when Erwin was overcome by floodwaters during Hurricane Helene.

In the days to come, the rescue operation turned into a recovery mission, and Army Veteran Roy Ferguson was a big help.

“We cleared all the buildings, warehouses, and the debris field along Route 26, including the bridge that was out on Route 26,” Ferguson stated.

Roy and his wife, Susie, are K-9 specialists in Search and Rescue for the Tennessee Special Response Team A. They assist law enforcement and other first responders in detecting human remains.

“My wife and I have been involved in this work for 25 years. We decided to join shortly after getting married. It took some time to find a team, but it’s been intriguing,” Ferguson explained.

His K-9 is Sulton, a three-and-a-half-year-old male shepherd trained to sniff out decomposition.

“Our canines are trained to notify us if they detect human decomposition, and we proceed from there. People call them cadaver dogs, but they aren’t trained to find bodies, rather to smell a scent,” Ferguson stated. “The dog is not trained to discover remains but to sense decomposition. He is trained to ignore animal remains such as possums, chickens, rabbits, deer; only humans trigger an alert.”

The intensive training begins when the dog is eight weeks old and can take up to two years to complete. Everything is voluntary and self-funded.

“We instruct them on what we want, point out a general area, and try to keep them there, but we avoid over-directing. They detect things we can’t perceive,” Ferguson said. “Without our dog, we’d accomplish nothing, as he identifies everything.”

The Unicoi County Search and Rescue Squad says their efforts during Hurricane Helene would have been prolonged without the Fergusons.

“These guys are subject matter experts. They train these dogs a lot. It’s a rigorous process. They have a lot of knowledge in what they do,” squad member Dylan Adams said. “We specialize in things like swift water ropes. But they spend a lot of time honing their craft with the dogs.”

Adams has known Roy for about seven years now.

“He’s a great teacher. You do something with him, you’re going to learn something. He’s an expert in his field and just an all-around great guy,” Adams said. “He’s a very hard worker. He’s true to who he is. He’ll tell you his feelings. He has a command presence. He gets things done. People listen to him, follow him. He’s just a leader.”

While the missions can be difficult at times, Ferguson is no stranger to tough situations. He signed up for the Army during the Vietnam War.

“I got in and went through Officer Candidate School, then went through helicopter flight school, and you go at that time, you went to helicopter flight school en route to Vietnam,” Ferguson said. “I was in something called the Scouts. We flew a little two-man helicopter, and their job was to fly around at five and ten feet and look for bad guys. And the joke is, they always found us.”

Growing up in East Tennessee, he says, everyone around him was in the military, and it was something that was just “ingrained.”

“It had a very high attrition rate. So that’s why I really don’t tell that many people about it,” Ferguson said. “Because when you start talking about it, no one believes you.”