July 3, 2023 – It was the early morning hours of Sunday July 2nd that a Madera County Sheriff’s officer went missing, that officer being K-9 Police Dog, Odin. What started with a city wide search in the Clovis/Fresno area ended late that evening when Clovis resident Camryn Escoto returned home.
Escoto noticed Odin hanging around in her backyard, one of the few areas that the dog decided to stay after being spotted on several other doorbell cameras in the area of Herndon and Chestnut. Odin was found at Escoto’s house near Clovis and Ashlan.
Upon arriving and finding Odin, Escoto decided to take her own German Shepherd puppy for a walk. Escoto reported that Odin, a fellow German Shepherd, walked alongside them. “He’s way too powerful for me. He just continued on his walk with us. I didn’t want to get too close to him because I didn’t know his temperament.”
After their impromptu walk, Escoto, not knowing that the dog was a K-9 trained officer, posted on her Next Door app to see if anyone was missing a dog. That is when messages came flooding in, letting her know that this indeed was a missing K-9.
“I’m happy I could help them locate their dog. I really don’t have much to say because I know how they feel; the feeling of not knowing where your dog is at, [or] if they’re even alive.”
The Madera County Sheriff’s Office posted a thank you to Camryn Escoto and to all who helped locate the dog.
“We cannot thank Ms. Escoto enough for her swift response reporting Odin’s location. Our community has proven once again what a truly tight knit, compassionate, supportive place it is, and we are proud to serve each of you. We feel fortunate and grateful for this outcome, and once again thank all of those who helped the extensive search efforts today.”
Those included in the extensive search efforts were about 20 deputies deployed directly by the Madera County Sheriff’s Office. Commander Bill Ward said, “We were knocking on doors and checking different areas.”
Odin originally had escaped from his 6-foot kennel and scaled a 6-foot fence from his handler’s home at around 4 AM Sunday morning near Cedar and Bullard. He then traveled to the aforementioned area of Herndon and Chestnut before being found at Escoto’s home near Clovis and Ashlan.
This comes as a reminder for the public to be on the lookout for our furry friends this fireworks season. Plenty of instances, even in the case of a police dog, occur in which animals go missing, and just as Escoto, the hero of the day mentioned, “The longer that they’re gone, the longer the hope starts diminishing.”
Odin should be returned to his handler and hopes to get back to work in the coming future.