Theft of K-9 search squad's trailer full of gear could cost lives

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Even on New Year's Day, Barbara Ilari and her dog, Luna, couldn't take the day off.

During a sunny afternoon at Jefferson Memorial Forest, Ilari unleashed Luna and loudly commanded her to find her son, Noah, who was hiding a good distance away — across a stream, over a hill and beside a fallen tree. Luna ferociously weaved through brushy shrubs and thorny vines to quickly find Noah, who smiled as the friendly gray dog greeted him with a kiss. Ilari was close behind with plenty of praise for the excited K-9.

The routine training is necessary, because Luna and Ilari are volunteers with the Jefferson County Search Dog Association, a group that suffered a costly setback because of a crime on New Year's Eve.

James Brown, who's served with the rescue group for ten years, said Louisville Metrosafe will enlist its help when local police departments in Kentucky and southern Indiana need help finding missing children, elderly people, hikers and natural disaster victims.

"If you've ever lost something like your keys, that's hard," Brown said. "But if you've lost a person, and you don't know how they are, that's earth-shattering," said Brown."

While dogs like Luna help their handlers find the missing, Brown uses specialized radios and transmitters to keep track of the search and talk to rescuers.

"That communication is so vital to getting that patient or that lost victim out of the woods and to safety and also our search and rescue personnel," he said.

All of that equipment, which is worth about $7,000, was stored in the back of a securely-locked trailer in the backyard of Brown's home on Alger Avenue near Iroquois Park until the morning of New Year's Eve.

"I have a Blink camera system, and sometimes I just kind of check it, you know, in the morning when I get up. You can go to live view," Brown said. "Well, I went to live view, and there was no trailer."

Doorbell cameras didn't catch exactly what happened, but Brown said a neighbor's camera captured a video clip just moments after the trailer full of gear was stolen which seems to show a white mid-sized SUV towing a trailer that looks identical to the one stolen from Brown's backyard.

Brown said the vehicle seen in that video matches one that his camera videoed passing his yard twice before the theft.

He said the theft is not only a setback for the rescue group but also for the entire Louisville area.

"They've hurt the community. They really have," Brown said bluntly. "The team is hurting here."

It's a setback that could cost more than the face value of the trailer and gear. It's a setback that could cost lives, he said.

"I would just hope that their life gets better, and they see how bad something like this is because of how many people it actually hurt," Brown said.

Brown reported the theft to the Louisville Metro Police Department and hopes officers will be successful in finding the trailer and gear with the public's help. However, if not, the group is collecting donations on its website that could be used to purchase a new trailer and gear. You can find that fundraiser at this link.

Brown said the important work his association does will continue, even if it's harder because of theft.

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