Warsaw PD collects scents to aid missing person searches
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on October 3, 2017 11:21 AM
WARSAW -- The Warsaw Police Department is launching a program to collect "scents" from people's bodies so K-9s can track them down easier if they go missing.
Scent samples will be collected by swabbing exposed skin and underarms with a piece of sterile gauze. The gauze will then be stored in a sterile container with the person's name and date of collection on it.
The samples are good for up to a year.
Participation in the program -- named "Find My Family" -- is completely voluntary.
Warsaw Police Chief Eric Southerland said the collected samples would not be used for any other purposes.
Southerland said a Warsaw K-9 officer had the idea after seeing a news story from Florida. In that story, a family created a scent kit for a loved one with dementia. That family member wandered off, they gave a K-9 handler the scent kit, and the person was found successfully.
Now, Warsaw will have the same capability to make a concerted effort at tracking someone down by scent if they go missing.
The program was designed for children, as well as children and adults with cognitive impairments, but is open to anyone who wants to participate.
Southerland said the police department has gotten interest in the program from Warsaw Health and Rehab nursing home, and schools.
The scent track works by taking the K-9 to the last known location of the missing person, introducing the missing person's scent to the K-9 from the scent kit and then allowing them to follow the trail.
To make an appointment to have a scent sample collected, contact the Warsaw Police Department at (910) 293- 7816.