Paul Coley founded Scent Evidence K9 in 2012 to help communities and law enforcement agencies improve their methods of locating missing persons and bring the lost home safe. As a former FBI Forensics Canine Specialist, Paul has seen the heartbreak of families that have experienced a loved one who has gone missing and set out to create more successful ways to find them using specially trained trailing bloodhounds and scent.
Paul developed The Scent Preservation Kit® that enables a person to collect and store their unique scent for up to 10 years. Having a scent kit prepared in advance allows responders to begin searching for a missing person immediately with an uncontaminated scent article resulting in faster and more accurate location results. Recently, a Central Florida woman with Alzheimer’s Disease was found in only 5 minutes after wandering away from her home using a Scent Preservation Kit® that she had prepared 2 years earlier when she was diagnosed.
Those with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia are among the most at risk populations for wandering. Studies show that 60% or 3 in 5 will become lost or missing. To help Florida communities improve their capabilities to protect the 520,000 citizens at risk, Scent Evidence K9 partnered with Alzheimer’s Project to pass the Bringing The Lost Home Pilot Project Bill in June 2019. The Pilot Project provides thousands of Scent Preservation Kits® to people in Seminole, Bay, and Sumter Counties living with Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, and Autism. The bill also provides Missing Person Response and Scent Discriminate K-9 training to area law enforcement teams. “The goal of the Pilot Project is to increase missing person awareness and create safer communities for those at risk of wandering. We are looking forward to working with Alzheimer’s Project to achieve this goal and bring the lost home,” stated Coley.
We would like to thank Paul who has dedicated his entire career to public service in the fields of education, law enforcement, criminal justice, investigations, forensics, and emergency management. He also serves as a content expert for The Florida Department of Elder Affairs Dementia Care and Cure Initiative Council and speaks to families and caregivers of those at risk of wandering/elopement across the country.
We’re appreciative of Representative Scott Plakon who supported the Bring the Lost Home, Scent Evidence K9 program in partnership with the The Alzheimer’s Project, Inc. We would also like to extend many thanks to Representative Loranne Ausley, Senator Bill Montford, and Governor Ron DeSantis for supporting the expansion of dementia services in the Big Bend.
