A bloodhound named Sarge tracked an endangered missing person through backyards and neighborhood streets before dawn on Thursday, leading a York-Poquoson deputy to a spot where the person had become tangled in a damaged fence while trying to climb over it. The person, who reportedly suffers from memory decline, sustained minor cuts and abrasions and was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
According to WAVY.com, the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office K9 assisted James City County police in locating the endangered individual. Sarge navigated residential backyards and neighborhood streets before leading Deputy First Class Nick Levindoski to the backyard where the person was found, the station reported.
Sarge is the first bloodhound ever assigned to the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office, and Levindoski serves as his handler, according to the station's earlier reporting on the K9 team. That same report quoted Levindoski explaining how critical timing can be in tracking cases, noting, “Time is a big thing. Some of the tracks we're doing are 14-20 hours old.”
A Growing Track Record for the K9 Team
This is not the first time a York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office bloodhound has drawn attention for a successful search. The same account previously detailed how a young K9 bloodhound with the department located two young brothers, ages 7 and 9, after they left home after dark near Terrebonne Road.
The sheriff's office's five-pair K9 team has built a substantial record over the 15 months from January 2025 through March 2026. Per the Williamsburg Yorktown Daily, the team completed 165 deployments between January 2025 and March 2026, posting an 84% find-verification rate and a 74% arrest rate. The outlet reported that the team's duties span locating missing and endangered individuals, tracking and apprehending suspects, recovering firearms and critical evidence, and assisting with major narcotics investigations.
Regional Recognition for Canine Work
That body of work earned the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office K9 Team the 2026 Greater Hampton Roads Regional Crime Line Top Cop Award, the Williamsburg Yorktown Daily noted. The recognition came three days before Sarge's latest find in James City County.
Searches for endangered missing people who wander, including those with memory decline, aren't unique to Hampton Roads. In North Carolina, a Raleigh police sergeant and K9 Peppers located a missing, endangered older woman who had wandered into woods near Peach Road Park, according to the City of Raleigh. James City County itself has previously pointed to canine units as a tool for these kinds of cases; the county has said that adding K-9 officers would strengthen search-and-rescue capabilities, particularly in cases involving missing or endangered individuals, per James City County, Virginia.
Thursday's search in James City County ended with the missing person found and transported for medical evaluation after the fence mishap. No further details about the outcome of that hospital visit have been released.
