K9 bloodhound tracks scent to help autistic, non-verbal boy get home

K9 dogs are an invaluable part of any police department, capable of doing unique tasks that human officers cannot. For instance, dogs have an incredible sense of smell that allows them to track down suspects or missing people.

We’ve seen many inspiring stories of dogs being used to track down children who have gone missing, but recently, one police dog did things in reverse, figuring out where a missing child came from and helping him get home.

According to a Facebook post from the Union County Sheriff’s Office in Monroe, North Carolina, they received a 911 call from a local citizen who had found a small child walking down the road alone.

Deputies responded to the scene, but had difficulty identifying who the child was or where he lived: the child was autistic and non-verbal.

Wanting to get the loose child back to his family, the officers decided to take an unusual approach to locate his home: by using a K9 bloodhound named Remi to track his scent back to where he came from.

Deputy B. Belk, Remi’s handler, used a piece of sterile gauze to collect the scent from the boy’s forearms and neck, then gave the scent to Remi, who quickly jumped into action. The smart dog led them half a mile and miraculously led them right back to the child’s home.

According to the department, the child had escaped home in a “secretive manner that would not have alerted his parents,” and he was “quickly reunited with his loving family.” Deputies determined no criminal offenses had occurred.

Bloodhound dogs have long been used to trace the scent of missing people, but have rarely if ever been used in “reverse” like this. However, the novel approach worked so well that it has been embraced by the department.

“I’ve been around for 10 or 12 years. I’ve never heard anything like this being done,” Lieutenant Public Information Officer James Maye told CNN, calling it “out of the norm.”

“It’s not something that these guys train on normally, but it is something they’re going to instill in training from here on out.”

According to a Facebook post, Remi recently joined the UCSO in September 2023, when he was a “floppy-eared, 14-week-old” puppy. It’s clear that he has already grown into such a valuable member of the department, helping children in need.

Thank you to smart K9 Remi for helping this boy get home! This could be a great new way for police to help non-verbal people get back home safely.