Police service dog Arco and his handler Cpl. Dean Muir are being credited with saving the life of a distraught woman.
Just before 4:30 p.m. Thursday, police received a report that an 18-year-old woman in the area of Boat Harbour Road in Cedar was threatening to harm herself after some setbacks in her personal life.
When members arrived, they were told the woman had run off into nearby woods and her whereabouts were unknown. Arco quickly picked up the her scent and led Muir and Const. Natalie Cuvelle through mud-filled ditches, up and down steep slopes, across multiple trails and mud-soaked paths.
After about 40 minutes and covering more than three kilometres, the woman was found hiding in extremely dense bush. Wearing only a tank top, tights and runners, she was very scared, soaked with perspiration and had received several cuts and scrapes.
After much coaxing, Cuvelle was able to convince the woman to come out of from her hiding spot. Another officer transported the woman to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital for an assessment.
“Given her location, temperatures in single digits, her overall condition and lack of appropriate clothing, it is highly unlikely she would have survived the night,” said Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, in a press release.
Arco, who will retire in 2017 after six years of police work, even received pats from the woman as he accompanied her on the long walk out of the woods and was rewarded with a huge biscuit.
