Sniffing Out the Trail: State Bloodhound Unit Locates Missing Woman

To some, Nicki may seem like a friendly pooch just looking to play, but to those who have benefited from her work, Nicki is a lifesaver.

The 70-pound female bloodhound works on a team with Sgt. Melissa Brown from the New Jersey State Park Police to help locate missing persons by following scent trails.

Recently, Nicki and Brown's services came in use in , when a 60-year-old woman was reported missing from her Boonton Avenue residence on July 8. According to Lt. Mike Moeller, police received the call at 3:25 p.m. from a state-appointed guardian that the woman was missing.

Moeller said that the guardian had a conversation with the woman about her being moved to a state facility when she became upset and the guardian gave her a few minutes to calm down outside. The guardian walked away for a few minutes, but as he returned, he saw the woman walking into the woods near Kakeout Road.

Police said the guardian attempted to drive around the street to reach the woman from the other side, but by that time, she was no longer in sight and could not be easily found.

After police were notified of the woman's psychiatric history, they labeled it a "high-risk" case and called on the Morris County K-9 Unit to help find her. However, Moeller said the K-9 unit, which is primarily used to sniff out drugs or detect bombs, was unsuccessful, so Chief Edward Card decided to call the state bloodhound unit.

Brown said her and Nicki arrived at the scene and were given a scent article by the guardian so that Nicki could pick up and recognize the scent while on the trail.

"Bloodhounds are specialized for finding people," she said. "We give her a scent article from the person and we give her the starting command and then she follows that to the person."

The weather was working against the team on this particular evening, as it had recently rained. Brown said this moves the scent, making it harder for Nicki to track.

But after 29 minutes, Nicki and Sgt. Brown were able to locate the woman and help bring her to safety. The woman was transported to Chilton Memorial Hospital for treatment for emotional disorders.

This is just one of many instances where Nicki and Brown, who have been working together as a certified team for about a year, were able to successfully locate a missing person. Brown said she has worked with other dogs as well, but she enjoys working with Nicki because her size helps Brown to be able to lift Nicki over fences so that the team can go further into a search.

Brown said the ideal search time for when it is easiest for Nicki to locate a missing person is between two and eight hours. After that, the scent begins to age, she said. Still, Brown said bloodhounds in general are a breed designed for this type of work.

"Bloodhounds are the ultimate dog for scent discrimination," she said, explaining that the anatomy of the dog allows them to inhale scents and hear sounds in ways other dogs are not able to.

Nicki is Brown's first K-9 partner, she said, and the two continue working to hone their search and rescue skills.

"We try to train all the time," she said. "Just try to keep building. The more jobs you get, the more you get to warm up."

Brown and Nicki cover all of northern and central New Jersey and are available to any police department through a 24-hour dispatch center of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Others in her department travel to southern New Jersey as well. To reach the dispatch center, call 1-877-927-6337.