K-9 Helps Find Missing Elderly Man With Dementia in Mercer County

The Mercer County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit found an 82-year-old man with dementia who went missing on Wednesday.

Trenton Police requested the K-9 Unit’s assistance around 1 p.m. Wednesday afternoon for help to find the man, who had run away from his home on on the first block of Morningside Drive in Trenton around 7:30 a.m.

Sheriff’s bloodhound K-9 Maverick and Sheriff’s Officer David Smithson, along with Trenton Police Department Detective Lisette Rios, tracked the man’s scent across Route 29, over guardrails, through heavy brush and along the steep riverbank.

He was found in the rivers of the Delaware, sitting in chest high water and positioned for several hours.

Smithson, along with Ewing Police Sergeant Jeff Jacobs and Trenton Police Lieutenant Kenneth Zahn jumped into the water to rescue the man, who was suffering from hypothermia but otherwise uninjured.

He was taken by EMS to Capital Health Regional Medical Center (Fuld Campus) for treatment. He was later reunited with his family.

Authorities didn’t identify the man.

“The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit has grown into a highly trained unit, specializing in the pursuit of missing persons,” Mercer County Sheriff Jack Kemler said. “We are pleased K-9 Maverick and a dedicated team of law enforcement officers located this individual quickly and saved him from what could have been a fatal incident.”

Those responding to the emergency included the Trenton Police Department, the Ewing Police Department, Trenton Emergency Medical Service (TEMS), and the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit.

“The incident marks yet another significant ‘save’ for K-9 Maverick and his handler Sheriff’s Officer David Smithson,” Kemler said. “Most notably, K-9 Maverick and Smithson tracked a mentally distraught person for three miles last Labor Day evening.”

They located him unharmed in a roadside ditch near Washington’s Crossing, Kemler said.

The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit was established in 1993 to serve as an added component of law enforcement to assist local towns and municipalities on a moment’s notice.

The K-9 teams generally average over 150 assignments per year, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The attached image of Sheriff’s bloodhound K-9 Maverick and Sheriff’s Officer David Smithson was provided by the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office