3 missing persons were recovered using Scent Kits by 3 different Florida Sheriff’s Offices during a 3-week period in June – July of 2024. Scent discriminate K9 responders from Sumter, Jacksonville, and Orange County Sheriff’s Offices used Scent Kits provided through Florida’s Bringing The Lost Home Program to locate 2 missing elderly people with dementia and 1 youth with autism. “The Scent Kits allow family members and caregivers to pre-collect a person’s scent and they can store it at home until they need it. This is a very effective tool for people at high risk of wandering and it helps responders find a missing person faster when every minute counts,” stated Scent Evidence K9 CEO, Paul Coley. The agencies are all participants in Florida’s Bringing The Lost Home program and have been distributing Scent Kits in their communities for years, as well as receiving advanced scent discriminate K9 trailing and response protocol training for their K9 search response teams. “We are seeing a big increase in Scent Kit locations now that they are being distributed in communities across most of Florida. They are saving lives and bringing people home to their loved ones,” said Coley. The products and services are provided by Scent Evidence K9 through an appropriations bill that is entering its 6th year with partners The Alzheimer’s Project, Inc. Here are the amazing Scent Kit stories from our agency partners. To learn more about Scent Kits and how they can protect your loved ones CLICK HERE.
K9 Patriot Saves The Day Again! Jacksonville Bloodhound Team Uses Scent Kit To Locate Missing Woman With Dementia
Jax Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Yannuzzi and K9 Patriot responded to help locate a 68-year-old woman who had been missing for over 2 hours in the sweltering heat after a heavy storm had blown through. The missing person has severe dementia and had not been seen in over 2 hours. She did not have a cell phone that could be tracked, and she had taken off her GPS tracking bracelet days prior. Thankfully, her husband had prepared a Scent Evidence K9 Scent Kit a year earlier. The Scent Kit was issued by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office as part of the Bringing The Lost Home Program. The door from which the missing person exited the residence and the direction travelled was unknown. The humidity was high, and the temps were over 90 degrees. Dep. Yannuzzi presented the Scent Kit to K9 Patriot and the Jacksonville Bloodhound Team worked the area and trailed from the front door of the residence into the backyard. Dep. Yannuzzi rested K9 Patriot for a moment in his vehicle due to the extreme heat. K9 Patriot was redeployed in the front yard of the residence and began trailing ¼ mile north to the backyard of an abandoned residence for sale. K9 Patriot located the missing person asleep in the backyard, 10 ft. from a filled swimming pool. The missing person was returned safely to her family and K9 Patriot was rewarded with praise and his favorite toy!
Dep. Yannuzzi and K9 Patriot have multiple missing person recoveries and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has been a participating Bringing The Lost Home Program agency for several years. Great Trail Dep. Yannuzzi and K9 Patriot and Thanks to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for their commitment to creating a safer community and for BRINGING THE LOST HOME! AGAIN!
Orange County Sheriff’s Office Bloodhound Team Uses Scent Kit to Find Missing Elderly Woman with Dementia!
On 7-17-24 Dep. Allan Darcey and K9 Roscoe responded to a call to help locate a 76-year-old woman with dementia who had been missing for 45 min. Dep. Darcey presented the missing woman’s Scent Kit to K9 Roscoe and they began trailing in the high humidity 92-degree Florida weather. K9 Roscoe trailed and quickly located the woman who was 5 houses away in the stoop where she had fallen. “Dep. Darcey and K9 Roscoe used their advanced scent discriminate trailing skills to find the woman fast in the dangerous Florida heat. We train our Bloodhounds to ID the target by sitting and they often become comfort dogs in cases like this. This type of alert and post recovery behavior helps keep the missing person calm and safe,” stated Scent Evidence K9 CEO, Paul Coley.
This is the 3rd missing person recovery by Florida Bringing The Lost Home agencies using a Scent Kit in the past 3 weeks! Orange County Sheriff’s Office is a participating Bringing The Lost Home program agency and K9 Roscoe was donated to the agency by Senior Resource Alliance in Orlando. Dep. Darcey is a certified SEK9 Master Handler, and the Central Florida Bloodhound Team has many missing person recoveries and suspect locations to their credit.
GREAT TRAIL Dep. Darcey and K9 Roscoe and thanks to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Senior Resource Alliance for their commitment to creating a safer community!
Sumter County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Mata and K9 Indy Use Scent Kit To Locate Missing Teen with Autism.
Sumter County Sheriff’s Dep. Mata used a Scent Kit that the family had prepared in advance to trail the wandering teen through heavy vegetation to his location. The teen was in neck deep water and had been missing almost 24 hours. Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is one our first law enforcement partner agencies and have been providing Scent Kits to those at risk of wandering in their community for over 7 years. Dep. Mata picked up K9 Indy from Scent Evidence K9 just this past March during our 4th Annual Bringing The Lost Home Seminar. K9 Indy is only 10 months old! Great Trail Dep. Mata and Thanks to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office for their commitment to creating a safer community and for Bringing The Lost Home! This lifesaving story gained national attention and was covered on several news outlets. To see all the coverage and learn more CLICK HERE.
