JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is adding a new K-9 to its unit and focusing on some of the county’s most vulnerable people.
Pepper, a one-and-a-half-year-old bloodhound, will lead the Pepper Project.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
The K-9 was purchased by ElderSource, an aging and disability resource center, to be given to JSO.
Through the Pepper Project, Pepper will focus her efforts on locating people most at risk of going missing, like adults living with dementia and Alzheimer’s, or children with autism.
2023 STORY: ‘This cuts that down significantly:’ New program could help find your missing loved ones, faster
“According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are 580,000 people over the age of 65 in Florida diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s,” Lina Levin, ElderSource CEO, said.
The project also works to inform residents of programs like R.E.V.A.M.P., or the Registry for Endangered, Vulnerable, and Missing Persons.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
Through the voluntary, confidential registry, people who are likely to wander off are already identified and have their important information stored so that first responders can act quickly if they go missing.
JSO Sgt. Michael Monts said the R.E.V.A.M.P registry totals about 500 people. He said he would like to see that number in the thousands.
You can find out more about R.E.V.A.M.P. and how to sign up by clicking here.
Along with ElderSource’s contribution, Baptist Health is partnering with JSO to provide 700 new scent preservation kits.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
JSO said they come free of charge when a person signs up for the R.E.V.A.M.P. program.
The kits work to pre-collect a person’s scent ahead of time and give K-9s and responding officers a head start when locating a missing person.
Levin said their goal is to get as many people who are at risk a kit.
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
