Just after 7 p.m. on the evening of April 7, 2020, Search Teams Adam Leckonby and Luka and Brian Girard and Keila of New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and New York Task Force 2 received a call from Schenectady County Emergency Manager to assist in searching for two missing siblings in a rural, heavily wooded area of Rotterdam, New York. Both dogs are former shelter dogs who were found and trained by the Search Dog Foundation (SDF) before being partnered with their first responder-handlers. They now support the State Office of Fire Prevention and Control Special Operations Branch, which has four SDF-trained canine search teams on its roster.
The 12-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl were familiar with the area and had set off on an adventure walk earlier in the day; however, after five hours and with darkness and rain setting in, search and rescue crews were called in to help find them.
Since Brian and Keila were driving north from Westchester County, a few hours away, where they had been deployed to assist in special operations related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Adam and Luka were the first team on site. As Adam and Luka began to search, a drone and helicopter flew over the search area, using thermal imaging to attempt to find the missing children.
The area surrounding the Moccasin Kill Sanctuary is rugged terrain with many steep cliffs and ravines, as well as abundant and potentially dangerous wildlife. With all these factors, Adam knew it would be challenging, but also knew that time was of the absolute essence as temperatures began to plummet and the rain continued.
A 911 call was received from a homeowner approximately two miles from the command post saying that the children may have been near the property, and as Adam planned his search strategy, he would have Luka search a hilled area near the home first.
However, Luka had other ideas – when Adam released him to search, Luka insistently searched downhill, in the opposite direction of the intended search area. In that moment, Adam reverted back to his training and remembered the enduring canine trainer adage, passed down through generations of handlers:
Rather than calling him back in the other direction, Adam and the search party followed Luka’s lead, listening to the rustling of leaves to keep track of Luka’s movements in the pitch-black darkness.
After nearly an hour of searching, Luka showed intense interest in a deep ravine that was difficult to access. The team worked their way around the void, and when Adam thought he heard a noise, he leashed up Luka and called out in hope of hearing the children answer.
When he did not receive a response, Adam prepared to release Luka to search once again, to find out why Luka was so interested in the ravine. In his search dog training, Luka was taught to pinpoint the strongest scent source that he can physically reach and alert with a strong, loud bark, to let Adam know that he has detected live human scent.
Adam knew that Luka was on to something but needed to get a little closer to the ravine and creek to survey the area and be sure it was safe to let Luka off-leash again.
Just as Adam was about to release Luka to search, one of the children called out to the rescuers – Luka had led them directly to the children.
Though they were cold and wet, the kids were uninjured. Adam and his teammates gave the children their jackets to warm up and Luka got lots of ear scratches for a job well done.
As his reward in training, Luka gets to play a game of tug-of-war with the humans he finds, and this night was no different – although this time, he got to tug with the children he had found.
