Chase and handler Terry Downs pose for a picture.
Photo credit: SUBMITTED / COSAR
April 15, 2021 – 12:19 p.m.
Chase, the search and rescue dog, found his first missing person in Kelowna this morning.
At around 2 a.m. today, April 15, the Central Okanagan search and rescue team was called to locate an 86-year-old patient from Kelowna General Hospital who, according to a media release, had left shortly after the operation.
Chase only started search and rescue two weeks ago. Within minutes of his mission, he found the man near Abbott Street in a pile of papers with severe hypothermia.
Crew members on foot and with e-bikes had searched the area until 8 a.m. when they found the backpack of the missing person. Then Chase was brought to the scene.
The two and a half year old Labrador Retriever trained for over 2,000 hours with his handler Terry Downs.
“Research has shown that search and rescue dogs equate to 20 ground personnel,” said search manager Kevin Birnie in the press release. “He has proven himself today.”
Chase found the missing KGH patient within minutes of arriving at the scene.
Photo credit: SUBMITTED / COSAR
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