Delia D'Ambra

Wade Keener, who happened to be Jason's partner at the time, told me that the main types of investigations Forest Service law enforcement officers like them worked involved inspecting timber sales, preventing timber theft, and general recreation calls like fights, alcohol-related incidents, drug investigations, car break-ins, and loud parties.

38-year-old Jason had joined the U.S.

Forest Service in 2004 as a part-time entry-level firefighter.

Prior to that, he'd been employed for nearly eight years with the McDowell County Sheriff's Office.

By 2006, though, he'd worked his way through additional law enforcement training to become a full-time federal officer.

He'd inherited his four-legged partner, Maros, and begun learning German commands to be a better handler for the dog.

In the early and mid-2000s, some local law enforcement agencies in the region didn't have canine units, so quite often other departments would ask Jason and Maros to help them with tracking.

Maros was trained in a variety of methods, including tracking for people and drugs, as well as canine protection.

The more cases the pair worked together, the more recognition they got amongst area law enforcement agencies.

When they arrived at the command post during the Troy Wisnett manhunt, Maros signaled to go one direction while two tracking dogs from Morganton went in another direction.

For a bit, the Morganton canines followed what the team suspected was the suspect's scent.

But then, seemingly because the dogs were so new to the job, they lost the scent.

Meanwhile, Officer Jason Crisp realized Maros had locked onto Troy's scent trail and wanted to follow it.

So he notified everyone in the group that Maros was on the move.

Shortly after 2.50 p.m., with Maros leading the way at a brisk pace, Jason followed his dog further into the woods and down the side of a hill into a thick grove of young white pine trees.

As they worked their way through the thick brush, several North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers trailed behind them about 10 to 15 feet away.

But in the blink of an eye, Jason and Maros dipped out of sight of the troopers, and just a few seconds later, a shotgun blast rang out.

According to Jason's former partner, Wade Keener, and some official incident response documentation he provided me with, unbeknownst to Jason, Troy Wisnett had tucked himself behind a large poplar tree directly in Jason and Maros' path and was laying in wait.

When Jason and Maros got within 15 feet of Troy, he shot Jason at close range in the side of his head, killing him instantly.

In the thick brush, Maros became entangled in his leash and was unable to run and attack Troy.