Polk County Sheriff’s Office bloodhound safely locates missing man with autism using pillow to track scent
LAKELAND, Fla. - You typically don’t want to be featured on one of the stock cards Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd puts on display, but when one of his deputies and K-9 partner graced the front of the iconic images, it wasn't because they earned a trip to the ‘Grady Town’ jail. Instead, they were being praised by the sheriff.
A bloodhound with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and his deputy partner are being hailed as heroes after the pair safely located a missing Lakeland man with autism.
According to Judd, the Lakeland Police Department searched through the night to locate the missing and endangered man who wandered away from his home in the dark without his glasses or shoes, but couldn’t find him.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd holds up an image of K-9 Wyatt and Deputy Rimes.
Officers requested help from the PCSO and that’s when K-9 Wyatt and Deputy Rimes joined the search.
K-9 Wyatt acquired the missing man’s scent from a pillowcase and got to work. The bloodhound tracked the scent through the city streets and safely located him.
K-9 Wyatt and Deputy Rimes.. Image is courtesy of the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
"He had a ten-hour head start," explained Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "The good news is he’s home and he’s well and he’s healthy and that’s our four-legged friend that made all that happen."
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