Scent Discriminate K9 Teams Find Search Success After Bringing The Lost Home Summit

Scent discriminate K9 teams from 6 out of the 7 agencies who attended the Second Annual Bringing The Lost Home Summit in March had successful missing person recoveries and suspect locations within 3 weeks of the training. 100% of the agencies who had a call out had a find and 50% of the K9 teams had multiple finds after the 3-day Advanced Scent Discriminate K9 Trailing Seminar at Scent Evidence K9 Headquarters in Tallahassee, FL.

“Before the Summit, our Florida Bringing The Lost Home Project participating agencies had accumulated 114 finds in under 3 years of program participation. The number has grown to 139 in just 3 weeks with more finds soon to be reported as the cases clear the investigation process,” stated Scent Evidence K9 CEO, Paul Coley.

Bloodhound and Patrol Dog K9 handlers from Bay, St. Johns, and Nassau County Sheriff’s Offices had multiple finds immediately following the training program. The successful K9 searches included a carjacking with 2 small children in the vehicle, capturing a shooting suspect during Spring Break, and multiple missing endangered children recoveries. “We are so proud of the success our Bringing The Lost Home Project partners are having. They are elite K-9 teams and they are using their skills and training to save lives and create safer communities,” stated Coley.

Here are some of the amazing scent discriminate K9 team highlights from the past few weeks.

St. Johns County Bloodhound Team Uses Scent Kit To Find Missing Endangered Youth

Dep. Melanie Merritt and K9 Daisy have been super busy during the Autism Awareness Month of April with their second endangered child location in less than 2 weeks! A Scent Evidence K9 Scent Kit had thankfully been prepared before the incident and provided to Dep. Merritt at the scene. Merritt presented the Scent Jar to K9 Daisy and they began the trail in front of the youth’s residence. K9 Daisy trailed approximately 100 yards down the sidewalk before turning into the woods. The trail continued for a quarter-mile and Daisy located the youth lying under a tree. She was breathing but would not wake up. She was checked out by paramedics and was fine. K9 Daisy was rewarded for her awesome trailing work with a can of Vienna Sausages, her favorite treat!

St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Bloodhound Team Finds Endangered Runaway Child

Dep. Melanie Merritt and K9 Daisy responded to a missing 12-year-old call on April 10. The child had run away and was wearing only a t-shirt and underwear and was not wearing shoes. Dep. Merritt collected a scent article from a sweatshirt the child had recently worn and presented it to K9 Daisy. Daisy is a scent discriminate Bloodhound who is specially trained to locate missing persons using their unique scent. The K9 Team trailed through the woods to the backyard of a mobile home residence. After circling the residence, they located the missing child hiding under a sheet in an old car parked in the front yard. The child was found in only 14 minutes.

2 Bay County Sheriff’s Office K9 Teams Find 2 Suspects in 2 Days!

Dep. Angel Huyke and K9 Lycan trailed a bail-out suspect after a short pursuit. The 20-minute trail led right to the suspect who was trying to blend in at an apartment complex by sitting on a porch. The K9 Team had just run the same scent discriminate trailing scenario during Advanced K9 training at the 2nd Annual Bringing The Lost Home Summit 2 Days prior. The next day Cpl. Jeff Duggins and K9 Ronnie started their week off with a bang by successfully trailing another suspect after a short vehicle pursuit with a bail-out. K9 Ronnie trailed the suspect to a room at a local Hotel. Cpl. Duggins collected the scent from the suspect’s driver’s seat.

Bay County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Jeff Duggins and K9 Ronnie trailing a suspect in response to a report of shots fired during Spring Break.

News 4 Jax coverage of the latest find by Nassau County Sheriff’s Office Dep. Beth Smith and K9 Rogue.

The amazing scent discriminate trailing work led to the location and capture of a carjacking suspect who stole a truck with 2 children inside. Check out the story about the bravery of the children and the great trailing work of Dep. Smith and K9 Rogue.

Nassau County Sheriff’s Office Bloodhound Team Helps Locate Carjacking Suspect

Dep. Beth Smith and K9 Rogue were called to assist in locating a carjacking suspect in Duval County this morning. The subject had bailed out from the vehicle. Dep. Smith collected a scent article from the vehicle and presented it to K9 Rogue. The trail was approximately 45 minutes old and K9 Rogue trailed along mostly hard surfaces, through a wooded area and knee-deep water, and located the subject. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office K9s were trailing in tandem with Dep. Smith and apprehended the subject.

Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Bloodhound Team Finds Woman Injured In Wreck

Sgt. Emmett Merritt and K9 Grace responded to an accident scene where a vehicle had hit a tree and rolled several times. A witness had observed a woman sitting in the grass, covered in blood after the accident. The woman fled into the woods when she was told the police were being called. Sgt. Merritt collected a scent article from the vehicle and presented it to K9 Grace, a scent discriminate Bloodhound. K9 Grace trailed North for 30 yards and turned into the thick woods. Merritt and Grace continued trailing 40 yards through the dense brush and located the woman unconscious in a fetal position. EMS responders transported the injured woman to the hospital for treatment.

Orange County Sherriff’s Office recently located a felony warrant suspect, thanks to the help of one of their loyal bloodhounds.

Dep. Angela Keller and K9 Hyde responded to a request from Seminole County Sheriff’s Office to help find the felony warrant subject who bailed out of a car. As Seminole County Sherriff’s Office held down the perimeter, Dep. Keller and the K9 trailed the suspect from the car to the wood line to find the suspect laying down in the woods. It took the Bloodhound team about 8 minutes to find the suspect.

Dep. Keller and K9 Hyde had recently brushed up on their scent evidence skills, having just attended the Advanced Scent Discriminate K9 Training during the Second Annual Bringing The Lost Home Summit in Tallahassee. The Summit featured a focus group that included a presentation from keynote speaker and Senior Resource Alliance (SRA) President and CEO, Karla Radka.
“We’re very grateful for our partnership with Orange County Sherriff’s Office,” said Radka. “Through the Bringing the Lost Home program, we will be able to save many seniors’ lives and help provide peace of mind for caregivers and loved ones.”

SRA has provided resources to enhance missing persons response capabilities for people with Alzheimer’s Disease and other high-risk populations in Orange, Seminole, and surrounding counties.
“The training that we use to search and locate someone’s grandmother that has wandered, can also be used to find a fleeing suspect. A well-trained scent discriminate K9 team is an effective tool for both jobs and we couldn’t be prouder of the exemplary trailing work by Dep. Keller and K9 Hyde,” stated Scent Evidence K9 CEO, Paul Coley.
This is the third find by Dep. Keller and K9 Hyde since first attending training with Scent Evidence K9 back in October. GREAT JOB Angela and Hyde!

St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Super Star Bloodhound Team Finds Missing Endangered Juvenile

Dep. Nick Cooper and K9 Star were requested by the Southeast District to assist in locating a missing endangered juvenile who had left their home in an apartment complex. Dep. Cooper collected a scent article from the juvenile’s bedroom and presented it to K9 Star, a scent discriminate Bloodhound. Dep. Cooper gave the command to “find it” and K9 Star took off across the parking lot. K9 Star trailed through the backyard of another residence and continued towards a wooded area. K9 Star started wagging her tail and located the missing youth curled up behind an A/C Unit. K9 Star located the youth in only 7 minutes.

To learn more about the Bringing The Lost Home Summit CLICK HERE