The FCSO is one of the five Sheriff’s Offices in Florida to receive missing persons response training, discriminate scent training for K-9’s, and scent preservation kit resources through Florida Legislature’s “Brining the Lost Home Program”. This program was signed into law by Gov. DeSantis in June of 2022.
This program will be implemented this year in the following five counties, Orange, Jacksonville, Highlands, Lafayette, and Flagler. This will allow these Sheriff’s Offices to introduce and maintain a program to help with those more prone to wandering; like dementia patients, those with autism, Alzheimer’s and other cognitive diseases and disabilities.
This program is going to provide Flagler County Sheriff with 500 scent preservation kits to give out to families who are living with a relative that suffers from one of the aforementioned disabilites or diseases. This will allow Flagler County residents to preserve their loved ones scent before they go missing, which will aide in the Sheriff’s ability to locate the missing person. To reach out and receive a kit, contact the FCSO’s Community Engagement Unit at CommunityEngagement@FlaglerSheriff.com
“Having a pre-collected scent article ready for responders before a person goes missing is much more effective than using an article of clothing or a personal household item that may have been handled previously by others. The Scent preservation kit gives K-9 responders a head start, which can save a person’s life,” said Scent Evidence K-9 CEO Paul Coley. “Having the information prepared in advance gives responders the most accurate identification details when they begin searching.”
Kits include an Individual Preparedness Plan flash drive. This drive allows a family to store critical information about their loved one, such as triggers, and calming techniques. These scent preservation kits can last up to 10 years.
This program also allows for Scent Discriminate training for the K-9’s. Flagler County had a training session with Scent Evidence K-9 CEO Paul Coley on January 10th 2023.
“FCSO has been distributing scent preservation kits as part of our SafeTrak initiative for several years. The increased availability of scent preservation kits and training for our agency as part of the Bringing the Lost Home Program will help us to continue to bring the lost home safely in Flagler County,” said
Sheriff Rick Staly. “It was our honor to host this training. A special thank you to Scent Evidence K-9 CEO Paul Coley and our legislators, for making this training and equipment possible in Flagler County!”
Sheriff Staly was the one to re-implement the bloodhound capability to the FCSO after 40 years. K-9 Holmes and his partner have won K-9 trailing team of the year twice for the State of Florida.
