Missing Dementia Patient Found by Police K9 and Scent-Preservation Kit

When a Florida woman with dementia disappeared from her home, scent-detection dog, K9 Ally, used her powerful sense of smell to trace her steps, finding her in a matter of minutes.

In 2015, a Citrus County woman living with dementia created a scent-preservation kit in the event that she’d someday need to be located. Scent-preservation kits are made when a person swabs their underarms with sterile gauze, then seals them in a specialized jar with tamper-proof tape.

More than two years after making the kit, Citrus County K9 Ally used it to track and locate her, returning her safely back home.