WILLISTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Volunteers from North Country Search Dogs helped find the remains of a missing hiker in Westmore on Wednesday. The team is deployed on missing persons cases all over the state, with a goal of bringing loved ones home.
Two simple commands set K-9 Harley in motion.
“They find something that has human scent on it, it starts very small, and they come back. A lot of our dogs, a lot of them have the jump up, so they’ll jump up on us and that says we’ve found something… And we say, ‘Show me,’” said Jennifer Vaughan, an operational leader for North Country Search Dogs.
The team is deployed only by law enforcement in Vermont and New Hampshire.
Dogs like Harley and K-9 Mookie go through roughly two years of training to pick up on out-of-place human scent.
On scene, teams cover anywhere from 80 to 100 acres each.
“We’re called out only for people, our dogs search for humans or articles, things that humans have touched. Things that have human scent on them,” Vaughan said.
While the team assists on rescue missions, they also play a major role in recovery.
Their most recent deployment helped locate the remains of missing hiker Sue Mi Ko in Westmore.
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“We were hindered by the snowpack. There was really not much you can do. There was some dangerous terrain there, so that caused the delay. But having the snow gone was really the thing that unlocked it,” said Stella Richards, a K-9 handler.
They say whether day or night, the team keeps its focus on bringing closure to families.
“If they’re out there and they’re lost, that’s just agony for the family, absolute agony. So to be able to bring the person back to their family, even if they’re dead, that’s better than them not being found,” Richards said.
While working alongside search and rescue teams with the Vermont State Police, the organization says they don’t charge for their services because they believe in community and recognize the critical nature of every mission.
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