A Louisiana-based volunteer organization that trains K9 teams in helping find lost or missing persons is working to establish a division in the Pine Belt and throughout Mississippi.
Officials with Cajun Coast Search & Rescue Team, headquartered in West Monroe, Louisiana, came Saturday to Petal River Park, with about 15 K9s and 30 handlers to conduct training exercises as part of establishing a presence in the area.
“Basically, we placed odor out there – all the dogs that were with us this weekend were all human remains detection,” said James Harrington, commander of the Mississippi division. “So we have training items that have been donated by various medical personnel, and we put them out and hide them and bury them.
“We try to replicate as much as we can what a real call-out would be like. We currently have a couple of training areas (locally) – Paul B. Johnson, Camp Shelby, the county multipurpose center.”
The organization consists of volunteers from throughout Louisiana, with K9s trained in multiple areas. That includes tracking, trailing, live find and the ability to help with swift-water rescue.
Once Cajun Coast Search & Rescue Team puts together an established training group, Harrington will set up meetings with local law enforcement agencies and fire departments to make them aware of the organization’s presence in the area.
“The majority of police departments do not have that asset, at least on their payroll,” Harrington said. “So if a missing person, or an old cold case murder or something like that were to pop up, (we could help with that).
“A family can even personally request for it. They can call us, and what we’ll do is get in touch with the local law enforcement agency that’s in charge of it, and we’ll let them guide us based on what they need.”
