Police dogs, Bear and Ferie, proved to be the heroes of the day (again) in recently tracking down a 71-year old deaf man who had been missing for a number of days.
The man was reported missing in the Odeke area in Msinsini on December 12.
The Port Shepstone Search and Rescue team was called in to action last week’s public holiday, December 16.
Police spokesman Captain Petros Mpinge said the man could not call for help or hear anyone who was calling out to him.
In addition to these challenges, the terrain where he was believed to have gone missing was dense bush, perfect habitat for dangerous snakes.
And it was hot and humid.
The search began with the dogs leading the way.
It wasn’t long before they found the man and the Saps carried him out of the bush, alive, but severely dehydrated.
He was taken to Turton Clinic for further treatment.
Bear, aged nine, is a veteran police dog and his handler is Warrant Officer Rommel da Rosa.
He took over working with this highly respected dog from former handler, Lieutenant Jack Haskins, a retired search and rescue officer in Pietermaritzburg, in 2016.
Ferie is younger, only three, and handled by Sergeant Mark Banjo.
They’ve had a very busy season so far, including the retrieval of the body of a boy (15) who had drowned while fishing at a dam in Nkwazi, St Faiths on Monday last week.
In October, Bear found a foetus wrapped in a linen, in a shallow grave in Umzumbe.
Bear has a decorated career, having been used in many high profile rescues.
He also holds a record – for finding the body of a missing person in Soweto who had been submerged 50 metres under water for six months.
He was one of four dogs used in the search for missing Durban woman, Brenda Lynn Scriven, in 2016, who went missing after her car was swept away during heavy floods. She has still not been found.
Meanwhile, Ferie is carving out his own career.
The young dog is trained in locating missing persons and played an instrumental role in finding a missing three-year-old in Margate earlier this year. The child was found alive.
The police encourage people to report a missing person immediately, and to not wait.
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