K9 Officer Tracks Down Woman In Distress: Police

LAKE COUNTY, IL – A Lake County Sheriff’s Office K9 officer and his deputy searched for an hour in the cold, fog and rain early Sunday for a woman in distress, eventually finding her and bringing her to safety, authorities said. The sheriff’s office was first called to a home in the 21600 block of West Grass Lake Road in Antioch Township at about 2:30 a.m. where they were told a 32-year-old woman was in mental distress and had made threats of harming herself before fleeing on foot, according to a news release from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputy John Forlenza and his K9 partner, Dax, responded to the scene, along with other deputies, to search for the woman. The duo tracked the woman in the cold, rain and fog. Authorities believe the woman was changing locations to avoid being located, which made it even more difficult to find her, according to a news release.

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After almost an hour, K9 Dax found her walking on Grass Lake Road. An ambulance was called to the scene to take her to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation, police said.

“Our Canine Teams have a tremendous record of locating missing people and fleeing offenders,” Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said. “We are very proud of Deputy Forlenza and Canine Dax for quickly locating this person who was in distress.”

PHOTO VIA THE LAKE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE