K9 Duo Locates Severely Autistic Boy Who Fled Residence: East Haven PD

EAST HAVEN, CT —East Haven police K9 Officer Donato Palma and his K9 partner Enzo successfully located a non-verbal autistic child on Friday, police Capt. Joseph M. Murgo said.

On Sept. 23 at 7:45 p.m. officers were dispatched to a Short Beach Road address after the parents of a non-verbal autistic child called to report that their child had fled the residence in an unknown direction, Murgo said. The complainant advised dispatchers that the family went out into the neighborhood to look for the child, but returned unsuccessful, he said.

Murgo described what happened:

When Palma and K9 Enzo got there, a scent was picked up from the child’s personal belongings and a track ensued. K9 Enzo began tracking to the rear of the missing child’s residence in an easterly direction. Enzo continued tracking east to the rear of the next-door neighbor’s house and located the child hiding behind a large wooden deck. The child was then reunited with his family unharmed and in good spirits.

"This case highlights the important work police K9 teams are involved in, outside the more widely known tasks of locating narcotics in vehicles and tracking fleeing criminals," Murgo said. "East Haven currently has three K9 teams whose dogs are all cross trained in narcotics detection, criminal apprehension and search and recovery."