Footage from a police body camera recently revealed the remarkable moment when a dedicated K-9 successfully tracked down a 96-year-old man who had gone missing.
Ray Cornett, a resident of Florida, was reported missing on Saturday, prompting an urgent response from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities categorized Cornett as an ‘endangered person,’ given his age and circumstances.
In response, a comprehensive search operation was launched in the Lutz area, situated just north of Tampa, involving several specialized units.
Among these units was an officer partnered with his skilled K-9, Boomer, a bloodhound renowned for its exceptional tracking abilities.
The officer’s body camera recorded the moment he retrieved Boomer from the backseat of his patrol car, attaching a leash while warmly greeting the dog with, “Hey Booms.”
The video then shows the officer presenting an item belonging to Cornett, infused with the man’s scent, to Boomer, setting the stage for the search mission.
‘Find him!’ the officer said before Boomer took off.
The video then cuts to the officer and police dog searching a lakeside before entering an area dense with trees and foliage.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office body camera footage captured this K-9, Boomer, tracking and finding a missing 96-year-old man named Ray Cornett
In the video, Boomer’s handler could be seen placing an item belonging to Cornett that had his scent in front of the K-9’s nose
Boomer quickly zeroed in on Cornett, who appears to have been lying on the ground. The officer radioed, ‘Hey, I found him in the woods.’
Another officer could then be seen going over and checking on the elderly man and asking if he was okay.
‘Good boy!’ the officer handling Boomer could be heard saying before repeating, ‘Good boy, Boomer!’
Shortly before the video ends, an officer and another man can be seen slowly escorting Cornett out of the wooded area.
A firetruck could be seen parked on the road, and three members of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue who had responded to the call could be seen.
Police said that the elderly man was located just a couple hundred yards away from his home, to which he was safely returned.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office posted the body camera footage to its Facebook page, congratulated the ‘great work’ of its officers and praised Boomer in particular.
The sheriff’s office did not provide details about how or why Cornett went missing.
Join the discussion
Should police dogs like Boomer get special rewards or recognition after heroic rescues like this?
Boomer quickly sniffed out Cornett, who appears to have been lying on the ground among dense trees and foliage near his home in Lutz, Florida
Police said that Cornett was safely brought home. The elderly man is pictured being escorted out of the wooded area
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for comment and additional details.
In the comments of the Facebook post, dozens of people shared their enthusiasm and praise for Boomer.
‘Love it! Get that dog a steak,’ one user wrote.
‘Nothing better than those floppy eared dogs…. Great Work,’ another said.
‘That is amazing! I don’t think anyone would of thought the gentleman could make it that far into the brush. Glad they got the dog out fast for the search,’ a third chimed in.
Yvonne Cornett, the daughter of the missing elderly man, also commented and wrote: ‘Wonderful job by boomer!!! Thank you from [the] bottom of my heart for finding my dad!!!’
