Dexter Filming Locations: Search for Bodies

DEXTER Filming Locations - hundreds of actual places where the TV show Dexter was filmed.


The location: Search for Bodies

Q. What is it supposed to be on the show?

    A. An empty tract of land where a body may have been buried.


Q. Where is it supposed to be on the show?

    A. Somewhere in Miami.


Q. When did we see it on the show?

    A. In Episode 2, of Season 7, "Sunshine and Frosty Swirl".

    Wayne Randall is spending life in prison for going on a killing spree with his girlfriend, Hannah.

    He has now told investigators that he is willing to lead them to the spot where he buried the bodies of three other murder victims, 15 years ago.

    In this scene, we see them at that site. Wayne Randall is there, shackled and wearing a bright orange prison uniform. FBI and federal marshals are digging up the ground, while police bloodhounds try to locate the bodies, without success.

    Dexter talks with the prisoner, curious about how he might have reformed  - since Dexter is trying to figure out whether he can reform himself, now that Debra has discovered his secret.

    Debra shows up later, to keep an eye on things, and talks with Dexter.

    Wayne Randall seems to have made peace with his situation in prison. But he puzzles Dexter by saying he only has one last person to kill.

    After Debra goes to get two Frosty Swirls from the stand, the prisoner suddenly bolts out into the street, deliberately running in the path of an oncoming tanker truck, committing suicide.


Q. What is it actually in real life?

    A. An empty tract of land, filled with palm trees, brush,  and a few old oil wells.


Q. Where can I find it in real life?

    A. This dig site was on the other side of the street from the "Frosty Swirl" stand.





It was filmed it on the northeast side of Shopkeeper Road, a small street which runs between the back of a large shopping center (known as the MarketPlace Long Beach) and this vacant land.

They built the Frosty Swirl stand at the edge of the MarketPlace center's rear parking lot, facing Shopkeeper Road, and filmed this dig scene directly across the street.

In several scenes, both the dig site and the Frosty Swirl can be seen in the same shot.

You can reach Shopkeeper Road in one of two ways: You can either turn into the shopping center, and then head through the parking lot to the far back (where you'll find Shopkeeper Road right behind the parking lot), or from Pacific Coast Highway, heading northwest past the center, just turn right (northeast) on 2nd Street, and Shopkeeper will be the first road you come to (after the center's parking lot). Turn right (southeast) on Shopkeeper.

It's less than a mile from the similarly vacant land where they filmed the scene of Mike Anderson's murder.

And last season, they filmed the scene of Angel and his sister at a restaurant at this MarketPlace center (in the El Torito).

Of course, you won't find the Frosty Swirl there any longer.  But, as you can see below, the palm trees remain...

    I shot the photo below in October 2012.



    And I shot this photo during filming in June 2012:



    Here is an aerial photo of the location.  Here is a Google StreetView.
      And here is a map link.


Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?

    A.  In the early seasons, I usually had to hunt down the locations after viewing the episodes, using clues from the various scenes.  By the now, though, I've developed a small group of fans, spies & tipsters who kept an eye out for Dexter filming in their neighborhoods, and would let me know in advance when something was about to film there.

    Between those reports, my own personal reconnaissance around town, and a few new resources I discovered, by the time the first episode airs, I already know most (but not all) of the filming locations, and only need to watch the episodes and match up the scenes with the correct locations.

    This group of helpful fans includes Rick, Ellen, Elaine, Mia, Joel, Susan, Eric, Jeff, Kerry & others. My thanks to all of them.

    In this case, I was there when they filmed the Frosty Swirl scene.
      I watched them shoot the scene where Debra runs out from the stand onto Shopkeeper Road, after the truck accident.  But I hadn't yet seen the episode, of course, so I didn't know that they also shot this second/dual scene of the dig across the street.

    Fortunately, a fan, Elaine, was there during that stage of the filming, and sent me a couple of photos and this short video of the shoot (note Jennifer Carpenter walking across the street):


     (Thanks, Elaine!)

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