In Alicante, a coordinated effort between the Canine Unit of the Prevention, Fire Fighting and Rescue Service and the local police successfully located an 80-year-old woman who had been missing for about a day. The search effort involved the SPEIS team and hospital staff at the Hospital de Sant Joan, according to police sources. Fire crews were mobilized on a Sunday night after relatives reported the disappearance, and their working dog followed the scent trail to guide responders to the missing person.
The operation began around nine o’clock on Sunday night when emergency services were alerted to a missing person in Alicante. A thorough description supplied by the family kicked off a coordinated investigation conducted by the Local Police alongside the SPEIS Canine Unit. Firefighters also requested the family’s help in outlining the missing person’s routine and preferred routes, to better map the search area around the home.
canine tracking
Responders deployed the canine handling team and their training dog known for human tracking. With the scent of the missing individual as the beacon, the dog led authorities to a doorway on Calderón de la Barca street. This lead helped local police and fire crews verify the presence of the elderly woman, who was found in proximity to the scene and subsequently assessed by the medical teams on site.
Initial medical evaluation confirmed that the woman evacuated to the San Juan Hospital emergency department bore the same identifiers as the missing person. She was soon placed under care in the hospital’s intensive unit as responders confirmed the match with the missing person description.
SPEIS maintains a dedicated unit for search and rescue of missing persons. This group trains specialized canine teams that participate in victim tracking and search operations as part of the service’s broader public safety mission. Their ongoing training and daily efforts in Alicante are highlighted by the department responsible for security and emergency response. [Source attribution: Local Police and SPEIS communications]