The Newton County Sheriff’s Office has received a $150,000 federal grant to purchase two bloodhound dogs and hundreds of scent kits to aid in the search for missing people.
The initiative comes at a critical time, with rising concerns about the number of missing individuals, particularly children with autism and seniors with dementia. The sheriff’s office, in collaboration with local schools, is distributing scent kits that capture a person’s unique smell.
In partnership with Scent Evidence K9, the Sheriff’s office also organized a three-day essential training session from January 28 to 30 for first responders, clinicians, educators and parents having children with autism, dementia as part of awareness campaign.
These kits can be used in emergencies to track missing individuals, especially those who wander off unnoticed. The kits are available for free to families in the community, thanks to the federal funding.
The sheriff’s office has also added an 11-month-old bloodhound, Petra, to its team. Petra is trained to track scents and locate missing persons quickly, a skill that has been honed over centuries in bloodhounds.
Currently, only Newton, Banks, and Liberty counties in Georgia are using these kits, but the hope is to expand the program further.
With statistics showing that over half of children with autism and 60% of people with dementia go missing at least once in their lifetime, this new tool aims to save lives and offer peace of mind to families in the area.