Florida Public Safety Institute to Host 17th Annual Bloodhound Scent Tracking Seminar

September 5, 2024

Tallahassee State College's Florida Public Safety Institute (FPSI) is hosting the 17th Annual Bloodhound Scent Tracking Seminar from September 8 through 13, 2024.

This year's event will host 25 Bloodhound teams representing six states: Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Minnesota, Georgia, and Tennessee. These teams represent law enforcement agencies and volunteer civilian search and rescue (SAR) teams. The teams train across FPSI's grounds, which include more than 1,500 acres of wooded terrain, wetlands, streams, and bodies of water, as well as residential and urban areas. Training is conducted during the day and night.

Bloodhounds are known for their keen tracking abilities and are often utilized to locate missing persons. The FPSI Bloodhound program originated as a collaboration between the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Jimmy Ryce Center, a nonprofit organization that donates bloodhounds to law enforcement agencies around the country to assist in the search for missing children and adults. FPSI is also represented on the statewide FDLE-led Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse Advisory Board (MEPICAB).

Bloodhound teams will also participate in the annual Florida Missing Children's Day on Monday, September 9, at the Tallahassee Automobile Museum. The annual ceremony is held in remembrance of Florida's past and present missing children and in recognition of Florida's continued efforts to protect the safety of children through prevention, education, and community involvement.