Winnebago County bloodhound helps track down, rescue suicidal man

Winnebago County bloodhound, Sadie, had her first life-saving find as a member of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office K9-Unit when she helped Sheriff’s Deputy, Eric Pearson, track down and rescue a suicidal man.

Sadie is a trained scent discriminate bloodhound trained by Scent Evidence K9. Sadie is one of two new bloodhounds recently acquired by the WCSO. Deputy Pearson also received his K-9 handler training from Scent Evidence K9.

Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office Press Release

The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call for a suicidal subject around 8:45 a.m. in the 2100 block of Welworth Avenue east of Rockford city limits.

Officials say a man consumed a large amount of prescription medication in an attempt to commit suicide.

Deputy Eric Pearson and new K-9 Sadie responded to the scene and located a scent to track down the man. He was found several blocks away from their home. After finding the subject, emergency crews were called to the area to take him to a hospital. Officials say he survived an intentional overdose.

Scent Discriminate K9 Team Trained To Bring the Lost Home

Sadie and fellow Winnebago County Bloodhound, Nancy Drew, have multiple life-saving finds to their credit. Both bloodhounds were trained at Scent Evidence K9 Training Headquarters in Tallahassee, FL using the innovative M77® Scent Discriminate training plan developed by CEO and former FBI Forensic K9 Specialist, Paul Coley.

Sadie recently led Coley to the location of a highly-publicized missing Florida State University student in Tallahassee. The teen had been missing for 4 days when Coley and Sadie located him alive in a heavily-wooded area. “There’s no better validation of our training processes than to see the K9 teams we’ve trained successfully find a missing person and bring them home safe,” stated Coley.

The Commitment To Improving Missing Person Response

Scent Evidence K9 is not only gaining a solid reputation for producing highly trained scent discriminate and scent detection K9’s, but they are also quickly becoming the go-to resource for high-performance K-9 handler training. “K-9 Trailing may start with a great dog and a skilled handler but we take it to the next level with comprehensive scent article collection methods,” stated Coley.

While working as an FBI Forensic K9 Operations Specialist, Paul identified the need for more effective and efficient ways to collect and preserve scent articles. “Having the best scent article available to start the trail dramatically increases K9 responder’s chances for success,” said Coley. “We are proud and appreciative of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office for making the commitment to improve their missing person response. We share the same vision of creating safer communities,” continued Coley.

How Families and Caregivers Can Help Law Enforcement K-9 Responders Find a Missing Loved One

Family members and caregivers now have the ability to protect loved ones before they go missing. Having a Scent Preservation Kit® prepared in advance allows responders to begin searching immediately.

A person’s unique scent is like a fingerprint to a scent discriminate bloodhound and can be trailed for days regardless of most weather conditions. Studies show the scent can last up to 10 years. Adding the Scent Preservation Kit® to your family safety plan only takes minutes and is a must-have for those with loved ones with Autism and Alzheimer’s Disease who are at high risk of wandering. Learn more about the Scent Preservation Kit® HERE