Bloodhound Uses 'Legendary Nose' To Locate Missing Plainfield Man

PLAINFIELD, IL — When an 18-year-old Plainfield resident with autism went missing on Monday, the police enlisted the aid of a special ally to help them with the search. Melanie – Codee, a bloodhound that belongs to the Cook County Sheriff's Office, scoured the area along with the Plainfield Police Department and rescued the man.

At approximately 9:20 p.m., officers responded to the 12800 block of S. Skyline Drive for a "missing adult, who has mental disabilities," said Commander Anthony Novak.

"It was disclosed to our responding officers that the male left the residence after a verbal disagreement ensued," he said. "With the assistance of members of the search and rescue team of the Plainfield Emergency Management Agency and other outside agencies, we conducted a systematic search of the surrounding areas."

Mike Juraszek, of the Cook County Sheriff's Office, said they were contacted by the Plainfield PD, requesting the services of MC and officers were dispatched at 11 p.m. About three hours after he went missing, the man was found hiding in a ditch on 2700 block of S. Shenandoah Drive, Novak said. He was then transported to Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora for treatment.

MC, also known as the Hammer because of her tenacious nature, was born last February in Florida, and has been with her handler, Juraszek, since October. While German shepherds are mostly used as K9, Cook County uses a bloodhound because of its heightened ability to track.

Jurazsek said the breed's physical characteristics account for its ability to follow a scent over several days, making it a useful instrument in the field of law enforcement and rescue operations.

"A bloodhounds olfactory sense has nearly 300 million receptors when people have only 7 million," he said. "The large, long pendant ears serve to prevent wind from scattering skin cells while the dog’s nose is on the ground, and the folds of wrinkled flesh under the lips and neck serve to catch stray scent particles in the air as the bloodhound is scenting, reinforcing the scent in the dog’s memory and nose."

He added that when properly trained, the highly-bred animal with its "legendary nose" can "produce extraordinary results."

During the search, MC followed a trail of 1.3 miles and found the man in just 32 minutes.

Jurazsek said the Plainfield PD used a patrol dog and numerous search and rescue personnel, but were unable to locate the man. This prompted the need for a dog with special skills.

"Without the use of the bloodhound, it would have been much more difficult to track the missing person in this particular incident," Novak said.

Very few police departments utilize bloodhounds as a law enforcement tool and therefore, Cook County Sheriff’s officers are very often "asked to assist other agencies not only within Cook County but also outside," Jurazsek said. "MC has done many trails, both non-criminal and criminal, which helped the investigation section to obtain crucial evidence about each case. The bloodhound’s ability to follow a scent left by a missing person makes it a lot easier to find the missing person than a human search."

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