On November 11, 2018, at approximately 4:25PM, Round Lake Beach Police Department requested the assistance of a Lake County Sheriff’s Office Canine Team.  Approximately 40-minutes prior, a juvenile with a neurobehavioral condition, exited his mother’s vehicle in the area of Fairfield Road and Central Park Drive in Round Lake Beach.  The juvenile fled from the vehicle on foot in an eastbound direction.  

Deputy Craig Somerville and his K9 partner, Diesel, responded to the scene.  K9 Diesel immediately began tracking the scent of the boy.  The two tracked for nearly a half-mile, to a drainage/water retention area, where they located the boy.  The boy was stuck in waist-deep water/muck.  The temperature at the time was in the mid-30’s and the boy was very cold, showing signs of hypothermia.

Paramedics arrived and successfully pulled the boy from the water.  He was transported to a local hospital for treatment due to his exposure to the elements.

Later in the evening, at approximately 11:50PM, Deputy John Forlenza and his K9 partner, Dax, were called to attempt and track a missing 36-year-old man with mental illness.  The man was last seen at approximately 10:00AM on November 11th near a residence in the 2400 block of Western Avenue in Waukegan.

K9 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, Waukegan.  At approximately 1:45AM, the Canine Team located the man unresponsive on a bench near a baseball diamond.  The temperature at the time was in the low-30’s, and the man was showing signs of hypothermia.  Paramedics arrived and transported the man to a local hospital due to his exposure to the elements.

Sheriff Mark Curran said, “I am very proud of our canine teams.  In just one day, Deputy Somerville & Canine Diesel along with Deputy Forlenza & Canine Dax saved two lives.  If it weren’t for the dedication, experience, and quick actions of our canine teams, these two situations likely would have ended in tragedy.”