Two Scent-Tracking Dogs Join HPD

Falcon (left) and Magnum (right) have joined the Hawai‘i Police Department. HPD photo.

Falcon and Magnum, two scent-tracking Labradors, are joining the Hawai‘i Police Department force to help solve crimes and find missing persons.

The public is invited to meet Magnum and Falcon on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. at Hawai‘i Police Department Kona Station Conference Room.

The Friends of the Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i have partnered with the Department of the Attorney General Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i and the Hawai‘i Police Department to purchase Magnum and Falcon, specially trained scent-tracking dogs.

The dogs will assist in the location and recovery of missing persons.

Seventy-five percent of children abducted by a non-family member are killed within the first three hours, so law enforcement experts say response time is critical in child abduction cases.

Both dogs are an added resource for the police department in recovering not only missing children but missing adults with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Falcon will be assigned to the Area I (Hilo) station and Magnum is assigned to Area II (Kona).

While the recovery rate of missing persons is high, Magnum and Falcon will be added tools for the police to use. The dogs will also be able to assist the HPD in locating other missing persons, such as lost hikers and persons suffering from various forms of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. They may also help track down escapees and fugitives.

“We are pleased to join forces in this collaborative effort to provide the police departments with this valuable resource,” said Hawai‘i Police Area II Criminal Investigation Division Captain Chad Basque. “Due to the size of the Big Island, dogs like Magnum and Falcon will be an asset in assisting with locating and recovering missing persons on our island.”

The Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i, an agency of the Department of the Attorney General, assists with investigations of missing children; coordinates with and assists other government and nonprofit agencies in locating and recovering missing children; and assists in training law enforcement, other professionals and the public on issues relating to missing children, and the prevention of the abduction and exploitation of children.

For information about the center, call 586-1449.

The Friends of the Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect Hawai‘i’s children from abduction and exploitation. They support the Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i’s efforts in the recovery of missing children, helping their families and educating the public on keeping our children safe. For more information on the Friends of the Missing Child Center-Hawaii, visit missingkidshawaii.org.