DuPage County police dog dies

A police dog tasked with detecting human remains for the DuPage County sheriff's office has died.

Stitch, a German shepherd who wore badge No. 914, died Friday afternoon, DuPage County officials said.

“Stitch was one of the most unique canines the sheriff's office has ever had,” Sheriff John E. Zaruba said in a statement. “In his career of detecting human remains, tracking criminals and sniffing out narcotics, he had some amazing finds. Stitch spent his life protecting the citizens of DuPage County and his partner, Deputy Bertuca, and for that, I am thankful. We will all miss him.”

Imported from Germany and donated to the department by a local breeder, Stitch quickly showed hat he had a talent for cadaver detection. He was taken to Seattle for formal cadaver detection training and certification.

As the county's only human remains detection dog, Stitch often assisted other law enforcement agencies throughout DuPage and the surrounding counties. Stitch could also detect narcotics and had tracking abilities. The sheriff's office did not release Stitch's cause of death.