Mercer County K-9 Unit Helps Find Missing Woman In Frigid Cold

When a 42-year-old woman went missing earlier this week, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office’s K-9 unit was called into action. Amid frigid conditions in a winter storm, the sheriff’s office was successfully able to find the woman.

The Robbinsville Police Department requested the assistance of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit to help find a distraught woman who was missing from her residence in the vicinity of Meadowbrook Road at about 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 11.

Soon after the search operation began, Sheriff’s Office bloodhound “Goose” picked up a scent and tracked the subject through an open field, a horse pasture, and located her 35-40 feet inside of a bamboo grove, according to Mercer County Sheriff Jack Kemler.

The woman, who was not identified by the sheriff’s office, was treated by local EMS and reunited with her family. K-9 Sheriff’s Officer David Smithson, along with officers from the Robbinsville Police Department managed the search.

“We are pleased K-9 Goose quickly located this individual and saved her from harm,” Kemler said. “The Mercer County Sheriff's Office K-9 Unit has grown into a highly trained law enforcement unit specializing in the pursuit of missing persons, criminal searches, explosive detection, and tracking.”

Kemler served in the K-9 Division of the Trenton Police Department early in his career. Established in 1993, The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit serves as an added component of law enforcement to assist local towns and municipalities on a moment’s notice. The Sheriff’s Office K-9 Bloodhound team averages over 50 searches per year, according to the sheriff’s office.

The attached image of K-9 Bloodhound Goose was provided by the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office.