School Police K9 Found Dead In Patrol Vehicle

WOODSTOCK, GA -- Law enforcement officials are investigating the death of a police K9 belonging to the Cherokee County School Police Department. 

Officers with the Cherokee County Marshal's Office and deputies with the Cherokee Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a call of an unresponsive dog the evening of Friday, June 10 at an address in unincorporated Cherokee County.

The dog, a four-year-old Belgian Malinois named Inca, worked as a K9 officer with the district's police department, the Marshal's Office said in a press release. 

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A preliminary investigation indicates the dog's handler arrived home around 4:15 p.m., turned off his car, allegedly left Inca in the rear of the patrol vehicle and went inside his home to attend to another dog, the marshal's office said. 

Around 7 p.m., the officer remembered Inca was in the patrol vehicle, and made the grim discovery when he went outside to check on the pup. 

Temperatures in Cherokee County climbed to the low 90's Friday afternoon. 

Inca's body will be transported to the University of Georgia for a necropsy. Return to Patch for updates.

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