RANDOLPH COUNTY — A Union City man is back with his family thanks to the efforts of two bloodhounds and hundreds searchers.
A Silver Alert was issued Christmas Day for 84-year-old Allen Jefferis after he went missing sometime between 8-10 p.m. Friday.
A news release from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said search crews were unable to find Jefferis for about 11 hours before Chase, a K-9 with the Boone County Bloodhound Unit, was called in to help. Another bloodhound handler out of Hamilton County brought his dog, Maudie.
The working dogs quickly went to work picking up the smell of the man. Soon after, the dogs found Jefferis lying wet, but alive, near a creek in a wooded area.
“My understanding is that there were over 300-400 searchers over the course of the time Mr. Jefferis went missing, this clearly shows how people still care in this sometimes hateful world we live in today,” Boone County Sheriff Mike Nielson said in a statement. “This K-9 bloodhound program is exactly why we began the program in 2018, to save lives.”
The Boone County Sheriff’s Office said Jefferis is back with his family and doing well.
