Lake County deputies, police dogs save two lives in less than 24 hours
A pair of Lake County Sheriff's canine officers, as well as their human handlers, are being hailed as heroes for their work to save two people from potentially life-threatening situations Sunday and Monday.
The first sequence of events began about 4:25 p.m. Sunday, when the Round Lake Beach Police Department requested help from the Lake County Sheriff's Office Canine Team to locate a missing juvenile boy who suffers a neurobehavioral condition, officials said.
Authorities said about 40 minutes earlier, the boy got out of his mother's vehicle in the area of Fairfield Road and Central Park Drive in Round Lake Beach and ran away.
Deputy Craig Somerville and his canine partner, Diesel, responded to the scene. Diesel tracked the boy's scent for nearly a half-mile and located him stuck in waist-deep water/muck in a water retention area, according to the sheriff's office.
The temperature at the time was in the mid 30s and the boy was showing signs of hypothermia, authorities said. Paramedics arrived and pulled the boy from the water. He was transported to a hospital for treatment.
The second rescue began about 11:50 p.m. Sunday, when Deputy John Forlenza and his canine partner, Dax, were called to track a missing 36-year-old man with mental illness. The man was last seen about 10 a.m. Sunday near a residence in the 2400 block of Western Avenue in Waukegan.
Dax located the scent of the missing man and tracked for approximately a quarter-mile to a school in the 1400 block of Montesano Avenue in Waukegan. sheriff's police said. At about 1:45 a.m. Monday, the Canine Team discovered the man unresponsive on a bench near a baseball diamond.
The temperature at the time was in the low 30s, and the man was showing signs of hypothermia, authorities said. Paramedics took him to a hospital for treatment
"In just one day, Deputy Somerville and canine Diesel along with Deputy Forlenza and canine Dax saved two lives," Sheriff Mark Curran said. "If it weren't for the dedication, experience, and quick actions of our canine teams, these two situations likely would have ended in tragedy."