Grant County K-9 saves life of missing Alzheimer’s patient

An 85 year old Alzheimer’s patient was rescued Wednesday morning from a large hole by  Grant County Sheriff’s K-9 Grizzly  and his handler, Deputy Dave De La Rosa.    The Grant County Sheriff's Office reports the man wandered away from his home overnight in the 11000 block of Road A-Northwest just southeast of Ephrata.  The man's wife said her 85-year-old husband was missing and presumed he left the house through the home’s garage door.  Deputies responded about 3:30am.

In temperatures around 5 degrees with the wind chill, additional resources from Ephrata Police, Fire District 13 and AMR ambulance searched the area on foot.  A thermal imaging camera was unsuccessful in locating the man.

K-9 Grizzly and handler Deputy Dave De La Rosa arrived and within minutes found the man about in a large hole about 100 yards from the home. The man had injured his ankle and was not able to walk. He was taken by ambulance to Columbia Basin Ho spital in Ephrata for treatment of cold exposure and the ankle injury. It’s uncertain how long the man had been outside.

Sheriff Tom Jones said “Patrol K-9s can be used to search for bad guys, and they can also be used to search for the lost and injured. It’s without any doubt that K-9 Grizzly saved this man’s life.”