To Another 'Police Officer' Who Saved a Life by Finding a Missing Person

Busan Police Agency Holds Commendation Ceremony for Scent Evidence Dogs

Do you know about another type of police officer, the 'Scent Evidence Dog'?

At 9:45 a.m. on the 9th, an award ceremony was held at the Forensic Investigation Unit office on the third floor of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency.

The recipient was not a police officer, but a 'puppy.' Yak, a five-year-old Malinois working as a rescue search dog, was commended by Busan Police Chief Woo Cheolmun, who presented a plaque of merit and a special food treat as encouragement.

Yak, who is active as a scent evidence dog at Busan Police Agency.

Plaque of Appreciation Awarded to Yak.

Yak's outstanding performance was demonstrated starting from the 27th of last month. At around 3:30 p.m. that day, a woman returned home in Dongnae-gu, Busan, after realizing her husband with dementia had gone missing, and immediately reported it to the police.

On the sixth day of the search, at 7:40 a.m. on August 1, two dogs from the forensic investigation unit were searching the area around the East Gate of Geumjeongsan Mountain. Yak discovered the missing person, who had collapsed from exhaustion in the forest along the fifth ridge of Geumjeongsan, and saved his life.

Dogs like Yak, used by the police for investigative purposes, are called Scent Evidence Dogs.

Previously, in August 2022, a suspect in an attempted murder case who had struck two victims on the head with a blunt weapon and fled to the mountains was caught by a Scent Evidence Dog while hiding in the woods near a hut.

Scent Evidence Dogs utilize their highly developed sense of smell to identify unique scents and search for and collect human and physical evidence. They were first introduced to forensic investigations in 2012 as search and rescue dogs.

They are mainly deployed in environments with many obstacles, such as suspect apprehension, missing person searches, mountain and water rescues, and in places that are dark or difficult for humans to access, such as underwater. When first introduced, there were only seven dogs at seven metropolitan police agencies, but now 29 dogs are actively working at 15 city and provincial police agencies.

At the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency's Forensic Investigation Division, two Scent Evidence Dogs are active. Yak and Deoksami continue to perform bravely, bringing miracles to the citizens of Busan even in heat waves and snowstorms.

Yak received the plaque of merit this time in recognition of his achievement in rescuing the missing elderly person with dementia, as well as his contribution to solving more than 10 major cases in 41 deployments over the past three years.

On the 9th, an award ceremony was held at the Forensic Science Division of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency.