New Kamloops RCMP recruit uses his nose to track to suspect

With only a few days on the job, police service dog Marook tracked down a suspect after a crash on the Coquihalla Highway late last week.

RCMP say officers were called to a crash on Highway 5 just after midnight on Friday, Sept. 10, and Marook, along with his partner Const. Kevin Challoner, searched a steep embankment to make sure no one had been thrown from the vehicle.

Two-year-old Marook then tracked down the driver who had left the scene of the crash on foot and found him about a kilometre away, according to an RCMP media release.

The suspect was arrested and ticked for driving without due care and for not having a driver’s licence.

Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Const. Crystal Evelyn said Marook and Const. Challoner — the newest members of the local dog service unit — had finished the dog handler training on Sept. 3. His first day on the job was Sept. 7.

“The dog handler program is intense and requires years of dedication and training to be successful,” Const. Evelyn said in the release. 

“It’s no small feat for Const. Challoner and Marook to have completed the program together and to be added to such a specialized unit.”

Marook’s father is police service dog Fin and his specialty is detecting drugs, including fentanyl, RCMP said.

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