* Find a lost child in the woods or missing from their homes.
* Follow an Alzheimer’s person that has wandered off.
* Assist law enforcement with crime scenes. Human remains detection.
* Locate drowning victims.
* Locate a direction of travel from last known position.
Dedicated handlers and well-trained dogs are crucial to the effectiveness of a search. Our teams responding to assist in locating the missing have passed certifications or shown mission readiness consistently in training. Our teams can assist with foot searches, so that law enforcement may be freed up for other essential duties. One deputy and a canine team can cover and clear a larger area and usually in less time than a line grid search would require. Most searches go without the help of competent and mission ready search and rescue dog teams. Search dog teams are a proven and lifesaving resource. Call us early!
AREA SEARCH: Area search dogs can assist with live find missing persons in open area spaces, such as fields and woodlands. Our dogs can search at night and in light precipitation. Don’t call off the search and wait until tomorrow. Call us early and let us help get into the fields and woods that cannot be searched as easily on ATV or foot. It’s better to get our dogs out there searching before the area is contaminated with all the other searcher scents.
TRAILING DOGS: Trailing dogs are best if called in the first 8-12 hours of the missing person’s trail. Collecting a good uncontaminated scent article on the missing person is crucial to starting the trailing dog. It is best if it is not touched by anyone else. If you think you might call us for trailing, collect a good uncontaminated article in a plastic bag before everyone enters the area and their scent falls on articles. Trailing dogs can be used at the scene to establish a line of travel or to trail the lost person and may travel several miles while on scent. We can deploy in light precipitation and after dark. Again, call us early!
HUMAN REMAINS DETECTION: Our deployable dogs have been proven and certified by a national certification. They have been shown to alert on human remains only. Fresh bones, decomp fluids, aged bones, high temp cremains, low temp cremains and various other ages and stages of human remains. They can assist with searching large areas, buildings, wooded areas, potential buried remains, cars, etc. We train in a variety of areas and scenarios to help assist Law Enforcement with locating the missing and helping to bring closer to families. The dogs search best in the cooler temps but can search for short periods in the heat and humidity.
Lisa Smith, K9 Handler, RN, BS, BSN, ACLS, ENPC, TNCC
LeeAnn Tufte, Federal LEO retired, US Army SGT, Military Police, SARTECH II