- April 28, 2024
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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement Missing and Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse Advisory Board selected a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit to receive the K-9 Trailing Team of the Year award. Cmdr. Fred Gimbel and K-9 Holmes will receive the award from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and FDLE Commissioner Richard Swearingen at the Florida Capitol on Monday, Sept. 13.
“This is a tremendous level of recognition for the second year in a row for such a young Bloodhound Team,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Commander Gimbel and K-9 Holmes make a great team and Commander Gimbel has put in so much effort to train Holmes in search and rescue.”
K-9 Holmes joined the FCSO in April 2018 and began working with Gimbel. The K-9 Unit made national news after FCSO requested the help of the community in naming the first bloodhound the agency has had in decades. Staly, Gimbel and K-9 Holmes appeared on Fox35 Orlando and ClickOrlando News6 when Holmes was just a few weeks old. The community rallied together and chose the name Holmes, named after Sherlock Holmes.
Since completing his training and being released to full-service, Holmes and Gimbel have located several missing people in Flagler County and helped to bring them home safely. The K-9 Team has also utilized Holmes to sniff out criminals during foot pursuits over the past year. The great successes of this K-9 team over such a short period led to the nomination and subsequent winning of this well-deserved award.
The second Monday in September is designated as “Florida Missing Children’s Day” by Florida Legislature. The objective is to raise awareness of Florida’s currently missing children, educate the public on child safety and abduction prevention, and recognize those individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the missing children issue. Find out more by visiting: http://www.fmcdf.org.
