ST. THOMAS - A long way from home, five V.I. police officers were still hard at work - and their effort led them to the lifeless body of little Shaniya Davis on Monday.

They were attending a monthlong K-9 unit course at Tarheel Canine Training Inc. and asked if they could volunteer in the search for the missing 5-year-old. Officers Aaron Hodge Sr., Jason Viveros, Heraldo Charles, Julio Mendez and Cornel Esprit from the St. Thomas-St. John and St. Croix districts were eager to use their skills to assist in finding the child.

"No matter where you go, if you can contribute and help and solve something, it's great," Detective Cornel Esprit said from North Carolina. "It's a great feeling."

On Nov. 10, Shaniya Davis' mother reported her missing, and Fayetteville, N.C., police began searching for her.

Immediately, foul play was suspected. The police believe Antoinette Davis sold her daughter for the purpose of sexual servitude to a man, Mario McNeill.

Davis has been charged with child abuse including prostitution. McNeill is in custody and charged with first-degree kidnapping.

The VIPD officers saw the local news report from the rented home where they are staying during their training. Esprit said he wanted to find her. Their trainer, Jeff Riccio, wanted to try too, Esprit said. Together, the team went to the training school and explained they wanted to volunteer.

Then, "Search Team 17" as they were called, headed to the command center near Walker Road but were stopped and told to search some nearby soybean fields.

Their efforts did not yield any results, but undeterred, they returned to the command center to request a new location. Upon reaching the area, they were overcome by the pungent smell of death.

"Do you smell that" a team member asked.

But the rank odor was not from human remains, said Esprit, who spoke to The Daily News on behalf of the team. "That's not a dead body," he said. "That's animal remains."

They left to report to the command center, which was no longer at the Walker Road location.

The group encountered a woman who informed them McNeill had confessed to dumping Shaniya Davis' body where there were deer carcasses and trash.

The team headed back to the spot on Walker Road with their dogs Max and Hasan in tow. During the search, Mendez stood on a log. He looked down and saw a leg sticking out. Mendez hoped it was a mannequin. Then, Esprit called Max over. The long-eared Belgian Malinois is Esprit's cadaver dog.

"He indicated to me that that's a corpse," Esprit said. "I knew immediately she was deceased because of the actions of my dog."

Esprit's forensic experience kicked into high gear. He ushered everyone from the scene including the North Carolina television news crew that had followed them and recorded the discovery.

While crowds of people were searching for her, Shaniya Davis' body had lain about 20 feet away from the command center that organized and lead the hunt.

Now, the tiny body of Shaniya Davis has been carried out of the woods and placed on an autopsy table. Her mother, Antoinette Davis, sits in a cell charged with crimes against her daughter.

And Bradley Lockhart, Shaniya father, is full of grief and regret for sending her to live with her mother just one month ago.

"Despite it being a sad ending with the fact that the 5-year-old didn't survive," Commissioner Novelle Francis said Tuesday, "at least, we could bring some closure to the matter.

"At least we know the officers did what they do best and provided some level of service to that community."

- With information from Associated Press reports.