Prefecture’s youngest dog makes a break for it in the middle of performing duties.

Last Sunday, the police box in the town of Fukusaki, Hyogo Prefecture, received a report about a car parked near the entrance of the hiking trail to Nagusayama, a nearby mountain. The car wasn’t in any sort of lot and the owner wasn’t around, but running the plates revealed that it belonged to a woman from the city of Akashi, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) to the south, who had been missing since October 21.

A search party was organized, consisting of officers and a pair of search dogs. One of the animals, a two-year-old male German shepherd named Kureba, is the youngest search dog in the Hyogo Prefectural Police, having begun his duties in January of this year and since participating i multiple searches. Kureba is described by the force as having a calm and collected personality, but during the search he suddenly began running at full force, causing his handler to lose his grip on the leash. Kureha continued running deeper into the woods, meaning that the search party was now looking for both the missing woman and their missing dog.

▼ Nagusayama

Sadly, the search for the missing woman ended with her deceased body being found. Kureha, meanwhile, was never seen again after breaking free from his handler’s grip, and with the sun setting and darkness falling upon the mountain, the officers were forced to head back with only one of the two search dogs they’d arrived with.

The police plan to continue searching for Kureha, who is roughly 120 centimeters (47 inches) long with black and brown fur. A small residential community is located about two kilometers from where Kureha ran off, and the police have asked any local residents who spot the missing dog to contact them.

Update: Since this article’s original writing, Kureha has been found. On the morning of October 27, a police officer found the dog roughly 100 meters from where he had run off, having accidentally wrapped his leash around a try and becoming unable to move. The officer supplied Kureha with some tuna bread and fish sausage that he had on him, and the dog is now back with the police, who say this is their first recorded incident of a dog running off during a search and are currrently considering what to do regarding Kureha’s future training and assignments.

Sources: Kyodo via Jin, Kobe Shimbun Next, Kobe Shimbun Next (2) via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Wikipedia/Yama0904
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