Officer Matthew Meuskes and K-9 Duke. (Photograph courtesy of Methuen Police.)
Methuen Police K-9 Duke saved the day one night last week, following the scent of a robbery suspect in Tewksbury.
Duke and his handler Officer Matthew Mueskes were providing mutual aid to Tewksbury police. Officers there, responding to a report of a robbery at a Market Basket, put out the call for a K-9. A Market Basket employee reported a man passed a note to a store clerk demanding cash.
“Duke picked up and tracked the suspects scent for over a quarter of a mile, leading officers right to the suspect, as he hurriedly crossed a McDonald’s parking lot,” Methuen Police said. “The suspect was detained and ultimately arrested.”
Leonard M. Boutilier Jr., 46, of Charlestown, was charged by Tewksbury Police with unarmed robbery.
Duke, a three-and-a-half-year-old bloodhound, has been with the Methuen Police Department for two and a half years. He is trained in human trailing. Mueskes and Duke are members of NEMLEC K-9, a regional team that operates by sharing resources and personnel, collectively providing services to each other that might not be available to one at one time.