119 Rescue Dog 'Happy' Finds Missing Person in Their 90s Within 30 Minutes of Search in Susaek

Search Focused on Missing Person's Usual Routes Without CCTV
Last Month on the 12th in Gyeongbuk Bonghwa, Rescue Dog 'Seungri' Found Dementia Patient

On-site search photo of 119 rescue dog 'Happy'. Photo by the National Fire Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] It has recently come to light that a 119 rescue dog found a missing man in his 90s just 30 minutes after the search began, drawing attention.

According to the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters of the National Fire Agency on the 6th, a report was received around 2 p.m. on the 28th of last month that a man in his 90s, Mr. A, went missing in a remote island village in Jaeun-myeon, Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do. In response, 22 fire and police personnel immediately launched a search, but after several hours, they were unable to locate Mr. A. Moreover, the situation was made more difficult as there were no closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras or vehicle operation recorders in the vicinity.

With no progress in the search, at 8:55 p.m., the search team deployed the 119 rescue dog "Happy" from the Honam 119 Special Rescue Team along with its handler to the scene. Happy conducted the search focusing on the missing person’s usual routes and succeeded in finding him at 9:25 p.m., just 30 minutes after the search began. Mr. A was found near a mountain about 100 meters from the location where he went missing, and his health condition at the time of discovery was reported to be good.

Kim Changsoo, head of the Honam 119 Special Rescue Team at the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters, said, "The Honam 119 Special Rescue Team operates three rescue dogs including Happy and actively deploys them in life search and rescue activities at various disaster sites. We will continue to enhance the training system so that 119 rescue dogs can be effectively utilized in real situations."

Earlier, on the 12th of last month, a rescue dog also found a missing elderly woman in her 70s in Bonghwa, Gyeongsangbuk-do. According to the Gyeongsangbuk-do 119 Special Response Unit, Ms. B, a woman in her 70s, left her home in Socheon-myeon, Bonghwa-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do around 3 p.m. on the 12th for a walk but did not return by sunset. Her husband reported, "My wife has dementia and has not been reachable since she left the house."

The fire department and police searched around Ms. B’s home throughout the night but could not find her, and the search continued the next day without success.

Subsequently, on the third day of her disappearance, April 14th, the special response unit’s rescue personnel and the rescue dog "Seungri" resumed a focused search at 6 a.m. and found Ms. B around 9:40 a.m., approximately 40 hours after she went missing. She was reportedly lost near the entrance to a mountain trail close to her home. After being rescued, Ms. B expressed her gratitude by petting the rescue dog several times.

The 119 rescue dog "Seungri," who found Ms. B, is a Malinois born in April 2013 and holds a level 2 mountain qualification. Since being assigned in 2016, Seungri has been dispatched to over 300 rescue scenes and has saved 31 lives. Additionally, Seungri has a record of winning the team championship three consecutive years at the National Rescue Dog Competition hosted annually by the National Fire Agency.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.