SHERIFF’S POLICE K-9 RESCUES
SUICIDAL SUBJECT
Thursday, November 5, 2009 —A 45-year-old Oak Forest man was rescued last night by the Cook County Sheriff’s Police K-9 Unit, according to the Office of Sheriff Thomas J. Dart.
The man, who had been despondent lately, had indicated to friends that he was going to go camping and then kill himself. Sheriff’s Police Officer Jim Pacetti and his K-9 partner, a bloodhound named Melanie, were called in to assist with the search. After getting the man’s scent from a pillowcase, Officer Pacetti and Melanie then went to the area where the man had last been seen. In less than 30 minutes, Melanie led Officer Pacetti approximately ¼ mile into a wooded area near Oak Forest, where the man was found alive and camping. The man, who seemed to be unharmed, was transported to a local hospital.
Officer Pacetti and Melanie have successfully located 5 individuals since she came to the Sheriff’s Police in December of 2007. Melanie, who is the only Sheriff's Police K-9 trained specifically for tracking and locating missing people, was named in memory of Melanie Beltran, a 5-year-old murder victim from Maine Township.
