Armpit odour from a bottle helps dog to find missing woman

POLICE in Florida have tracked down a missing woman with dementia by using a sniffer dog to follow her scent, which had been bottled and preserved.

Citrus County Sheriff ’s Office said the elderly woman, who has not been identified, had used a specialist “scent preservation kit” in 2015.

The kit comprises a piece of sterilised gauze which is rubbed on a person’s underarm before being sealed inside a jar.

Paul Coley, who came up with the idea after a career as a dog handler in the FBI, claims it can then hold someone’s characteristic odour for up to 10 years if stored under the right conditions.

Mr Coley, of Florida-based Scent Evidence K9, said: “They had used all the traditional methods to look for that individual. They brought the kit out and presented it to the team we had trained and five minutes later they had her.” The dog was rewarded with ice cream.