Bringing The Lost Home

Scent Evidence K9’s Bringing The Lost Home Program partners with community organizations that serve populations at high risk of wandering and going missing, such as those with Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, and Autism. In 2019, the first Bringing the Lost Home Program bill passed legislation in Florida to increase awareness and improve missing person response. The program is now in it’s 7th Year and has expanded statewide to locate almost 600 missing persons in Florida.

Bringing The Lost Home has continued to grow nationally, providing comprehensive scent discriminate K9 search systems for law enforcement, emergency response agencies, and community organizations. System components include products, services, and education tools to enhance agency K9 search response capabilities and community missing person awareness and wandering solutions.

Hundreds of agency K9 Teams have been trained through the program and their location success rates are some of the highest in the country. Thousands of Scent Kits have also been distributed throughout communities to help protect and prepare those at risk of wandering before a missing person event happens.

The Bringing The Lost Home Program enhances missing person response capabilities and recovery success by raising missing person awareness, mitigating risk, and improving search performance through the use of scent trailing recognition assessments, K9 and Handler training, and innovative scent collection technology.

“We are honored to partner with the community and agency leaders who are putting in the hard work and training needed to achieve these lifesaving results. Our vision is to continue to expand the program across the country to save even more lives and create safer communities,” stated Scent Evidence K9 CEO Paul Coley.

Protecting and Recovering People At Risk of Wandering

Scent Evidence K9 CEO, Paul Coley has made it his company’s mission to not only improve missing person response capabilities for communities but to protect individuals before they go missing.
Coley created The Scent Preservation Kit® or “Scent Kit” to give families and caregivers an effective tool to pre-collect a persons scent before they go missing and provide responders with a pre-collected uncontaminated scent article before the search begins.

The kits are easy to use and it only take a few minutes to SWIPE, SEAL, and STORE a person’s unique scent. A person simply SWIPES the included sterile gauze pad repeatedly around the underarm area and places the pad in a specially-treated evidence-grade jar. The jar is then SEALED, labeled, and STORED in a safe place in their home or adult care facility until needed. If a person has wandered or goes missing, a family member or caregiver presents the Scent Kit to emergency responders. This allows responders to begin searching immediately with the best possible scent source. “Having a pre-collected scent article ready for responders before a person goes missing someone is reported missing is much more effective than using an article of clothing or a personal household item that may have been handled previously by others. The Scent Kit gives K9 responders a head start which can save a person’s life,” said Coley. The Scent Kit® can last up to 10 years.

The Scent Kits also contain an Individual Preparedness Plan Flash Drive to store important identification information and trauma-informed care information like triggers that can agitate a confused person and comforters that can calm them when they are located. “Having the information prepared in advance gives responders the most accurate identification details when they begin searching,” said Coley. The Individual Preparedness Plan also contains Missing Person Reporting Guidelines that help families and caregivers act fast when a person is missing.
Scent Kits can be obtained by family members and caregivers by contacting their participating Bringing The Lost Home Program Sheriff’s Office.

K9 Search Response Protocol and Scent Discriminate K-9 Trailing Training

In addition to utilizing Scent Kits® that increase missing person awareness for at-risk populations, the Bringing The Lost Home Program also includes training to improve agency missing person search response and performance and K9 Unit trailing capabilities for the participating agencies. Coley, a former FBI Forensic Canine Operations Specialist, conducts the Response Protocol and Human Scent Discriminate K9 Trailing training for each agency.
Coley’s K9 Search Response Protocol is producing successful results for law enforcement responders and search and rescue teams and is endorsed by the Florida State University Emergency Management and Homeland Security Department.
Coley and Scent Evidence K9 also provide Human Scent Discriminate K9 Trailing Training for the participating agency K9 Teams and responders. Coley has developed an effective system of standardized scent discriminate trailing techniques and scent collection methods and technology that are producing higher success rates than traditional K9 tracking practices. “We are seeing over 90% confirmed trail results using the processes and technology innovations of the Bringing The Lost Home Program. Its making a difference in creating safer communities and saving lives,” said Coley.

To learn more about the Bringing The Lost Home Program contact info@scentevidencek9.com