Broward Sheriff’s Office K-9 Deputy Kelli Covet and her K-9 partner, Anthem, were recently named the Jimmy Ryce K-9 Trailing Team of the Year! The award comes after they rescued a non-verbal child from imminent danger last December.
According to reports shortly before 11 p.m., on Thursday, Dec. 14, BSO deputies were urgently dispatched to a residence in unincorporated Central Broward near Ft. Lauderdale in response to a critical report of a missing 9-year-old child with special needs.
Given the child’s vulnerability, compounded by the challenges of a densely populated residential area interspersed with numerous waterways, and further complicated by adverse weather conditions with high winds averaging 25 mph, traditional aviation search methods were rendered infeasible. The search operation thus relied on the specialized skills of K9 units. Deputy Covet, accompanied by her 2-year-old bloodhound, K-9 Anthem, were among the first responders to the scene.
Recognizing the urgency, Deputy Covet ingeniously used sterile gauze to absorb the child’s scent from one of his shoes, creating an effective scent article for K-9 Anthem. He confidently navigated the trail, initially heading west and then north along a residential street, skillfully contending with the gusty winds. The search path then led east on a different residential street where the child was safely located and returned to his family.
In nominating Deputy Covet and K-9 Anthem for the Florida Missing Children’s Day 2023-2024 Jimmy Ryce Trailing Team of the Year Award, their supervisor wrote that “Deputy Covet’s exemplary dedication, combined with K-9 Anthem’s impeccable tracking ability, not only ensured the swift and safe recovery of a vulnerable child but also underscored the indispensable value of their service to the community and BSO. Their actions are a testament to the highest standards of law enforcement and public safety.”
BSO’s Bloodhound Unit searches for the most vulnerable missing people in the county – children, the elderly, people with special needs and people living with mental illness. The bloodhounds, with their superior tracking skills, use a variety of tracking techniques to carry out searches.
