How a Bergen County Bloodhound Tracked a Missing Senior to a Deadly Cliffside
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Fort Lee NJ, In the dense, bustling streets of Fort Lee, a life-or-death race against time was unfolding. A local senior had wandered away from home, lost and disoriented as the first “heat wave” of the season hit New Jersey. But the Bergen County police had a secret weapon with a nose for miracles: Phoenyx.
A 2.5-Mile Trail of Hope
When the call came in last Thursday, Maywood Police Sgt. Chris Nichols and his 3-year-old bloodhound, Phoenyx, hit the ground running. Using only a single article of the woman’s clothing, Phoenyx began a grueling 90-minute trek through the heart of Fort Lee.
The search was anything but simple. “It was our first hot day, so the dog wasn’t used to that,” Sgt. Nichols explained. To find the woman, Phoenyx had to navigate a “scent cone”—a complex plume of molecules that drifts and shifts with the wind—tracking the scent for a staggering 2.5 miles.
The “True Cliffhanger” Moment
The trail eventually led officers away from the pavement and toward the “bluffs”—a steep, dangerous rocky area overlooking the busy Route 5.
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The Discovery: As Phoenyx pulled toward a precarious ledge, the team heard a faint cry for help.
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The Danger: The senior was found stuck on a rocky precipice. “If you walk off it, you’re dropping onto Route 5,” said Nichols.
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The Rescue: While the woman required medical attention, police confirmed she suffered no life-threatening injuries and is currently recovering.
Training Meets Instinct
For many of the newer officers on the scene, watching a scent-discriminating bloodhound work was a revelation. For Sgt. Nichols, it was the culmination of hundreds of hours of training.
“A lot of police officers have never seen this happen before. They were floored.” — Sgt. Chris Nichols
And what was Phoenyx’s reward for saving a life? Spam. According to Nichols, as soon as the mission was complete, the heroic hound was already nudging his pocket for her favorite salty treat.
A Legacy of Heroes: From Remi to Phoenyx
Phoenyx isn’t just a lucky pup; she has heroism in her DNA. She is the niece of Remi, a legendary Maywood police dog who famously tracked a homicide suspect for two miles in 2020. After Remi’s passing from pancreatic cancer in 2022, Phoenyx stepped up to fill those massive paw-prints.
This isn’t her first big win, either—just four months ago, she successfully located a missing boy in Upper Saddle River as darkness fell.
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