SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A pilot program is implementing kits that could help K-9 units locate a missing person with a cognitive or memory disorder using something as unique as your fingerprint: Your scent.
Seminole County is giving scent preservation kits for free to people with autism, Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. The kit works by swiping a medicated gauze under your armpits, then sealing it in a specially jar.
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The jar preserves your scent, and only your scent, for 10 years.
“It alleviates any kind of cross-contaminants, and the dog goes right to work,” said Seminole County Detective Rebecca Hamilton, who is overseeing the new program. “This really is a miracle in a jar.”
The state legislature approved the program for three agencies back in June with the hopes of using them to local vulnerable individuals who are more likely to wander off.
There are more than 520,000 people living in Florida with Alzheimer’s disease, only second to California. The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said it’s vetting people for kits every day.