DR. TRACY “TRACE” Sargent
Trace has a PhD in Psychology with an emphasis in criminal justice. She specializes in missing person cases, behavioral analysis, criminal profiling and victimology. She is a forensic criminologist, crime scene analyst, law enforcement officer, canine handler and public safety trainer. Additional credentials include (partial list): POST certified instructor, world protective services certified, secret security clearance, canine search specialist, master trainer and evaluator, canine medic, search, rescue and recovery expert, forensic sketch artist, psychological first aid certification, firefighter, emergency medical technician, structural collapse technician, emergency program manager, tactical combat casualty care certification, and NIMS certified.
Trace has been requested to assist in over 2,000 missing person cases, and has searched for and located lost and missing persons that have involved fugitives, runaways, Alzheimer’s, suicide, children, hunters, homicide victims, disasters, airplane crashes, etc. She has also been requested in numerous high-profile cases that have included the following (partial list): BTK/Dennis Radar (serial killer); Natalee Holloway, The Runaway Bride, Eric Rudolph, Tara Grinstead, Todd Kohlhepp (serial killer); Tom Brown, Lauren Giddings, The Dixie Mafia, Chase Massner, Hurricane Katrina, Theresa Parker, Justin Gaines, Gary Hilton (serial killer), Tiffany Foster, Sugar Plant Explosion, Tuscaloosa, Alabama F5 Tornado Disaster, Military Plane Crash, and Civil War and Revolutionary Battlefield Sites.
Trace has conducted complex behavioral analysis of crimes that have involved rape, homicide, staged events, linkage (serial killers), suspicious deaths, and sexual harassment and assaults. Additionally, she has provided forensic profiles as well as provided consultations related to interrogation assessments and tactics, and trial preparations.
Trace is currently a member of the “BTK” (serial killer) National Task Force and a member of a Federal Task Force Team (body recovery) as well as the Director of Forensic Investigations and Analysis, Inc. She is co-author of an internationally recognized canine detection training book, as well as an author of research journals related to missing persons and predator profiling. She is also an adjunct professor, teaching criminal justice at a local University. Her previous team affiliations include local and national investigative committees and agencies.
Trace has received numerous awards for her service. These include Living Your Legacy Award Winner, Outstanding Spotlight Achiever Award Winner, Nominated for the Governor’s Public Safety Awards, Georgia Magazine Pet Hero Award Winning Story, DAR America 250! Commendation, Golden Rule Award Finalist, and John Herbert Phillips Award for Promoting and Teaching Kindness and Compassion to Animals. She developed and is an instructor for a SAR program that was recognized as an Outstanding Innovative Adult Training Program for the State of Georgia. Her canine partner was inducted into the Georgia Animal Hall of Fame. Her canine partners were also the first licensed search and rescue dogs in the State of Georgia as well as the first cadaver/HRD dog teams for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation - Georgia Body Recovery Team. Additionally, her canine partners were the first disaster recovery dog teams fully trained, tested and certified for disaster operations in the State of Georgia (over 1,000 hours of training and certification).
Trace has conducted presentations and workshops ranging from small groups to large audiences. She is recognized as a subject matter expert and has been featured in high-profile cases and various media outlets. Such media outlets have included Up and Vanished, CNN Headline News, In Session, Partners in True Crime, World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer, Crime Watch Daily, HLN and HLN After Dark, The Nancy Grace Show, The Fall Line, 48 Hours: Hard Evidence, Beastie Bonds, Disappeared, Body to Burial, Chris Hansen, In the Red Clay, Good Day Atlanta, Associated Press, USA Today, Zone 7, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and LA Times. She has also been featured in the Atlanta Dog Life Magazine, the Southern Living Magazine, and the West Georgia Women’s Magazine as well as other various newspapers, magazines and radio shows.
She currently has search dogs that specialize in missing person cases, and she assists law enforcement agencies and families throughout the United States. Additionally, she provides specialized consultations that include behavioral analysis and criminal profiling evaluations, as well as crime scene analysis and victimology assessment services, and courtroom testimony.