Trailing - Lost Child
Barbour County Sheriff's Department
Pillipi, WV
by Kathy Holbert
Unusual situation: Almost next door to responder
Very active
child who daily wandered all over.
Call received by dispatch at 1000.
8-year-old girl had been missing from her home for the last three hours.
Temperature was 55 and dropping fast, girl was wearing shorts and tee shirt and
tennis shoes. The site turned out to be a stone's throw from my home, and I knew
the little girl, in fact, had seen her almost a mile from her home earlier that
day while on my morning run. This was not unusual as she was a very hyperactive
kid and had once gone 6 miles away trying to find grandma's house. BCTSRT
members were activated. At 1010 I started Mangus at the front door to the house,
while deputies were inside looking. Scent article was a pajama top. The girl had
two siblings who shared same bed and bath, and often clothing. Mangus
immediately circled around the house twice, then began circling perimeter of
yard. He worked very, very slowly. Bloodhound handlers Larry and Sharon Allen
arrived and began saddling up.
At this point we were on the black top road
where I had seen the girl earlier. Mangus went approximately 5 yards north, gave
a good negative, turned and went opposite direction south on the same road.
Again after about 5 yards another good negative. Started circling him backward
toward the house. He hit scent again on the gravel road that went alongside the
girl’s house. He committed hard this time, and after about 10 yards went hard to
air scent and practically pounced on the little girl, who was fast asleep curled
up around a big oak tree 15 feet off the road. She was cold but ok.
A search
that could easily have been quite long given her history, ended up short and
sweet, much to her harried mother's relief! Again, I am always amazed at how the
dogs can pick out that freshest scent among all the scents that are close to it
in age.
K-9
Specialty Search Associates
