Good job, Boomer: K-9 helps find 96-year-old man who wandered into woods

The K-9 helped locate a 96-year-old man who had gone missing in a wooded area near his home.
Boomer to the rescue: The K-9 helped locate a 96-year-old man in a wooded area near his home. (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office)

LUTZ, Fla. — A K-9 helped deputies in west-central Florida locate a 96-year-old man who had gone missing, authorities said.

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According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Ray Cornett, 96, was last seen inside his home on Saturday at about 11:30 a.m. ET in the north Tampa suburb of Lutz.

After he went missing, family members told deputies they believed that Cornett had been exhibiting signs of dementia, the sheriff’s office said.

While deputies scoured the area near Cornett’s residence, it was Boomer, a K-9 with the sheriff’s office, who was able to locate the missing man.

Deputies gave Boomer the scent, and the dog, who was on a leash, bounded away and led them into a wooded area near a lake, according to a video posted by the sheriff’s office.

Cornett was located several hundred yards from his residence, WTVT reported. He was returned safely to his home, according to the television station.

“Good boy, Boomer,” one deputy can be heard on body camera video released by the sheriff’s office.

“Love it! Get that dog a steak!” one Facebook user wrote in the comment section of the Facebook post by the sheriff’s office.

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