I would hate to be the cop who first searched the property and overlooked that boat where Dzokhar Tsarnaev was found hiding in that Watertown, Mass, residential neighborhood. Assuming that hideout boat was within the perimeter of the original search area, some law enforcement officer had the job of searching that property before the lock-down was lifted.
Whoever it was neglected to do a thorough search. There was an abandoned escape vehicle, a fugitive who escaped on foot, a bloody trail, a cut tie-down cord, and blood at the scene among the clues that would have led to the fugitive.
It would seem that anyone with the responsibility of searching an area would have thought to look in every possible hiding place -- dumpsters, trash cans, boxes, storage buildings, culverts, and yes, boats.
So someone had that responsibility and blew it.
Also, where were the bloodhounds? A bleeding suspect left a stolen SUV on foot. If it had happened near Huntsville, TX, the wail of bloodhounds would have filled the night, and they would have been on his trail in no time. Apparently, big cities prefer drug sniffing dogs over trackers.
Here's the way to order a search. Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard:
Alright, listen up, ladies and gentlemen. Our fugitive has been on the run for ninety minutes. Average foot speed over uneven ground barring injuries is 4 miles-per-hour. That gives us a radius of six miles.
What I want out of each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area. Checkpoints go up at fifteen miles.
Your fugitive's name is Dr. Richard Kimble.
Go get him.
Well, even Gerard didn't think to mention boats.
Update: "Dzhokar was located one block outside the designated containment area." Source. That explains why they didn't find him in the initial search. But it still doesn't explain the inability to following a bloody trail.
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