UNION CITY, Ind.–A man who had gone missing Christmas Eve was found Christmas morning in Union City, thanks to what police are calling “teamwork.”
A Silver Alert was issued for Allen Jefferis, 84, of Union City after he went missing at about 10 pm on Christmas Eve. At about 9:30 am on Christmas Day, a member from the Union City command requested the help of a Boone County Sheriff’s Office bloodhound and its handler. Another bloodhound and its handler were also called for help.
One of the bloodhounds was from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office. The other was from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. They were joined by hundreds of volunteers who offered to help police find Jefferis.
Police say the hounds were able to track Jefferis’ scent. The searchers and hounds found Jefferis laying on the ground in the woods near a creek. He was “clothed, wet, and most importantly alive,” said Wesley Garst, public information officer with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office. Jefferis was taken to a nearby medical facility for treatment.
Boone County Sheriff Mike Nielsen made the following statement:
Christmas is a time that we spend with families celebrating together and remembering the real meaning of Christmas. There is no better way to celebrate Christmas than by coming together as a community with Law Enforcement to do a good deed. In this case, the grateful acts of so many saved the life of Mr. Jeffris. My understanding is that there were over 300-400 searchers over the course of the time Mr. Jeffris went missing, this clearly shows how people still care in this sometimes hateful world we live in today. This K-9 bloodhound program is exactly why we began the program in 2018, to save lives.
