SIMPSONVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – When there’s a small child lost or a missing Alzheimer’s patient, law enforcement calls in experts to help with the search.
That help can come on two legs or four.
Foothills Search and Rescue was established in Greenville County around 15 years ago. Jamie Cox’s family was part of starting the team and she now serves as its search manager.
The team, with seven certified search dogs, was called out 80 times in 2022.
“Sometimes we’re in the mountains. We go all the way down to the beach,” Cox explained. “Sometimes we’re in an urban city environment. It just depends on where the call is.”
Lots of breeds can be trained to become search and rescue dogs. Size doesn’t matter because dogs share one common trait.
“Dogs can smell 44 times greater than the human nose,” according to Cox. “So, these dogs are trained on one task typically, and that is to find their target odor. And to them, it’s just a game.”
About half of the calls for Foothills Search and Rescue come from the Upstate. The team is also called for searches in the Midlands, North Carolina and Georgia.
“These dogs go in any environment, whether it’s on top of a mountain,” K9 handler Jeff Fowler told 7NEWS. “We’ve had searches, we’re actually in a bear sanctuary. We’ve searched in landfills.”
“We search in water. Our dogs are able to locate the odor that comes from underneath the water,” Fowler said.
Too many searches like these end with tragedy, but the happy outcomes make it worthwhile for the team.
“When you find that person and you help that family find their loved one,” Cox said. “There’s just there’s no other feeling like that.”
