Union County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe, NC – A local resident called 911 to report that they had found a child walking alone along Waxhaw Indian Trail Road.
Deputies responded to the area and began trying to determine where the child’s home was located but were unsuccessful due to the child being both autistic and non-verbal.
Deputy B. Belk and bloodhound “Remi” decided to attempt a reverse K-9 track starting at the location where the child was found in hopes that it would lead back to his home.
As many of our followers know, bloodhounds use scent articles to track.
To obtain a scent article that would help identify the child’s home, Deputy Belk used a piece of sterile gauze to collect the scent from his forearms and the back of his neck.
The scent article was given to Remi, who then successfully tracked backwards for approximately a half mile before locating the child’s home in a nearby neighborhood.
The child was quickly reunited with his loving family, and deputies determined during their investigation that no criminal offenses had occurred due to the child leaving the home in a secretive manner that would not have alerted his parents.
Deputies at the home also provided helpful tips to the family to prevent this incident from happening again.
Sheriff Cathey commends the UCSO personnel involved in this investigation for their hard work and commitment to returning this child to his home.
Sheriff Cathey would like to especially recognize Deputy Belk and bloodhound Remi for successfully completing a difficult and uncommon type of K-9 track.
