In March 2025, an elderly woman in Wuhan's Caidian District who had Alzheimer's disease went missing. Family members and villagers searched without success until police found her red cotton coat near woodland. As evening came and the temperature dropped, police dogs Yueliang and Xiong used the coat as a scent source and found her in the woods in only fifteen minutes.
Suoe Street, Caidian District, Wuhan, Hubei, China
A red cotton coat at the edge of the woods
On March 8, a woman in her eighties went missing in Suoe Street, Caidian District, Wuhan. She had Alzheimer's disease, had left in the morning, and did not carry a phone. Family members and villagers searched nearby for a long time but found nothing.
Police checked village surveillance and saw that she left the village around 7 a.m. before disappearing near woodland. After more than three hours of searching, officers found her red cotton coat southwest of the woods. She was still missing, but the coat became the crucial clue.
As darkness approached, two police dogs began to work
The sky was growing dark and the temperature dropped sharply. The woman was wearing only a thin sweater, making the situation dangerous. Wuhan's police dog base sent four handlers with two strong tracking dogs, Yueliang and Xiong.
Handler Wang Zibo judged that the coat's scent was still fresh and that the area had little human interference. After carefully smelling the coat, Yueliang and Xiong moved one after the other into the woods.
The signal after fifteen minutes
The woodland terrain was complicated and full of brambles. The two dogs moved slowly but remained focused, while handlers followed closely without disturbing their rhythm.
About fifteen minutes later, Yueliang gave the first alert on a mound. Handler Hu Aijun checked and found the woman sitting on the grass in a gray sweater. Her family confirmed her identity, and everyone helped her return safely home.
Not luck, but training becoming useful at the critical moment
Public reports identified Yueliang as a bloodhound and Xiong as an East German Shepherd. Both were only two years old, yet already strong trackers in Wuhan's police dog team. This was their first deployment of 2025.
People often see police dogs only when the result appears: fifteen minutes, deep woodland, an elder safe. Behind that moment are daily scent work, terrain practice, and trust between handler and dog. In an emergency, training becomes a way home.
Animals who guard people should be remembered gently
Wuhan police said police dogs had helped find seven missing people since 2024. Behind that number are not only police results, but stories of humans and animals protecting life together.
Yueliang and Xiong will not know what kind of rescue they joined. They simply lowered their heads, followed the scent, entered the woods, and found the person a family feared for before the evening grew colder. This archive records them so that such quiet, professional protection can be seen.
Timeline
- Morning of 2025-03-08 An elderly woman in Caidian went out and did not return.
- Around 16:00 The police dog base received an emergency order and dispatched handlers with Yueliang and Xiong.
- Around 17:00 Handlers met the family and learned she had no phone.
- During search Police found her red cotton coat southwest of the woods.
- About fifteen minutes later Yueliang alerted first, and police found the woman in the woods.
- 2025-03-13 Wuhan Public Security Bureau reported the rescue.
💬 Leave a Message
Messages are reviewed before publication. Please keep them calm, factual, and respectful.