Ohio Branch K9 Search Team Nonprofit helps find missing people with the help of dogs, Warren, Ohio

WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) – Police officers, firefighters and emergency medical services all work together to help our communities every day, but one group is often overlooked: the K9 unit.

“A lot of our calls for our trail dogs are for elderly people, children with autism or people with mental health issues,” said Becky Saltzmann, founder of the Ohio Branch K9 Search Team.

The Ohio Branch K9 Search Team is based in Warren. The team of five handlers, six support staff and of course search and rescue dogs work together in emergencies to help find lost people.

Becky Saltzmann launched the Ohio K9 Branch in 2021. The nonprofit organization is available 24/7 to families and law enforcement who regularly work with fire departments of Trumbull County as well as the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office.

“Instead of using a group of ten people to search a field, you can use just one dog. They can reduce the time,” she said.

Dogs are trained to find missing people based on their scent. Depending on the dog, they are trained to find human remains in various situations, such as in water or at crime scenes. They can also find people lost in the wild.

“We average between two to three calls a month and that's just because I don't think most people know that we were out there and that we have certified dogs and don't know what we do. “

The work is difficult. They train the dogs eight hours a day, three days a week and work hard to maintain their certifications from the International Police Working Dog Association, all without getting paid.

But Saltzmann says it's all worth it.

“It’s very rewarding to be able to come out of the woods with a child who has been missing for hours or an elderly woman or man who came out of a nursing home and walked a little too far and got lost and bring them back to their family.”

The organization is working to have another manager certified, which will bring its number to six managers.

For more information on how you can help the nonprofit, visit their Facebook page.