A vcr tape is taken from a security camera and dropped into a bucket of water. Can a tape that has been treated this way be recovered?

I was hoping somebody had a better answer for you, but here goes ...

If I were faced with such a problem, I would see if I could get the National Transportation Safety Board Lab in Washington, D.C. on the phone to see if they could help or advise - If they can't do it, nobody can.

My guess would be that they would want you to keep the tape in water if it is still in water so that it could be dried under controled conditions.

The body of knowledge, equipment and experience they have is that they are tasked with recovering information from black boxes in airline crashes. All commercial aircraft are equiped with these automatic data recorders. When one crashes in the deep ocean, water pressure and/or damage to the box means that a lot of time they get black boxes in ice chests full of water to see what they can do with them.

Good luck.

Thanks Stephen, as a former military pilot I should have thought of that one. I appreciate the answer.

I have already contacted Gordon LeMaire directly on this one (they convicted the guy without the tape). Our crime lab (DPS Austin Crime Lab) works with damaged audio and video tapes regularly including ones that have dunked in water. (General rule: leave in the water and ship it to the lab that way.) Apparently, trying to "kill" the security tape is not uncommon. Anyone, if you ever have a videotape that has been tossed in water or is damaged, be sure to contact our lab. They can do amazing things! If you have such a tape and need information, trying calling Gene Henderson at 512-424-2992. Mr. Henderson is a Forensic Videographer.

Janette Ansolabehere
DPS