A scent-driven Lee County sheriff’s K9 wagged his tail while relatives of a man who the dog led authorities to rescue praised law enforcement.
Remington ― a Bloodhound who turned 3 just days after his heroic action ― changed his body behavior when on Jan. 29 he approached the vicinity of missing 78-year-old Joceli Coutinho, of Lehigh Acres.
With weather forecasts across Southwest Florida indicating it was the coldest it has been in decades, reaching near-freezing numbers, and the sun setting as the family began their search, Joceli Coutinho beat the odds.
More than a dozen relatives on Feb. 12 met with Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, Remington and his handler, Deputy Robert Elwel.
Everton Coutinho, Joceli Coutinho’s youngest son, said the events that unfolded after his father disappeared remain fresh in his head.
“I remember their faces when we were there,” Everton Coutinho said. “It just brings back memories, like everything that happened that night. That was probably the hardest night we’ve had in our lives.”
Everton Coutinho said the time froze as the sun set and added that when he saw Remington it gave him and his family “so much joy and gratitude.”
‘Darker and darker’
Everton Coutinho expressed he had hoped to find his father while there was daylight.
“It was getting darker and darker… I was getting, to be honest, very, very anxious because of the cold as well,” Everton Coutinho said.
Around 1 a.m., Everton Coutinho said, he was watching the drones fly past and thought, “If they find him, it’s a miracle.”
“He has no medications, no water, no food,” Everton Cutinho said.
The moment he learned of the rescue
On Jan. 29, almost a day after his father seemingly disappeared, Everton Coutinho said, he and other relatives were searching in Buckingham Community Park when his sister texted and called. She then sent a voice message, Everton Coutinho said.
Everton Coutinho said that in the voicemail his sister cried as she repeated they found their father.
“Everything just came down, and I just ran back to where the entire [sheriff’s] department was,” Everton Coutinho said.
Everton said he only knew they found his father, but added he did not know if authorities found Joceli Coutinho “alive or dead.”
Everton Coutinho said the sheriff’s deputy confirmed his father was alive. Joceli Coutinho spent nearly a week in the hospital.
A family united
Everton Coutinho explained that most of the family lives throughout Lee County and few still live in Brazil.
“My brother lives in Brazil, and we were on the phone with him the entire time,” Everton Coutinho said. “We were just trying to maybe keep our hopes up throughout the entire thing.”
Everton Coutinho explained he was the first of all relatives to see Joceli Coutinho at the hospital.
“He didn’t recognize me,” Everton Coutinho said. “He was very bad… he was just very messed up.”
Everton Coutinho said dirt covered Joseli Coutinho’s face.
“I was trying to tell him, ‘Dad, this is me, this is me,’ but he wasn’t really paying attention,” Everton Coutinho said.
He said Joceli Coutinho remembered him about four minutes into the conversation.
“But he didn’t know what was happening, though,” Everton Coutinho said. “I think when he saw my mom for the first time, that’s when he realized that he was lost and he was safe. And up until then, he was very confused.”
Joceli Coutinho spent nearly a week in the hospital, Everton Coutinho said.
“He was very dehydrated and his muscles were very broken down, so he wasn’t able to walk and [he] wasn’t able to do anything by himself,” Everton Coutinho said.
Memories come and go
Everton Coutinho said that while Joceli Coutinho’s memories come and go, he realized he was lost and did not know where to go.
“In his mind, he said that the woods was the safest place for him. That’s what he thought,” Everton Coutinho said.
Everton Coutinho said he believes Joceli Coutinho spent all night in the woods.
“At one point he was saying that he was crying out to God the entire time,” Everton Coutinho said. “We’re Christian. He kept saying, ‘the God of Moses, the God of Jacob, please hear me.'”
Emotional mom taken to hospital
Everton Coutinho said his mother was very emotional and also spent the night at the hospital while authorities searched for her husband. He explained his mother had heart surgery last year.
“Her heart is not really strong,” Everton Coutinho said. “She’s still kind of recuperating.”
Everton Coutinho, who has three siblings, said about a dozen relatives were able to greet Marceno on Feb. 12.
“Why is family important?” Everon Coutinho replied to answer a question posed during a Feb. 12 news conference. “It’s the foundation of everything that we live in.”
Joceli Coutinho’s rescue
Authorities received a 911 call regarding Coutinho’s disappearance about 1:50 p.m. Jan. 28.
Marceno said the scent took Remington through an “incredibly thick brush” to find Coutinho, who Marceno said suffers from dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
According to Marceno, Coutinho was face-down under a brush.
The weather was 40 degrees at the time, Marceno said. According to the National Weather Service, the wind chill made it feel at least three degrees cooler as a cold front impacts the area.
Marceno said the rescue mission involved patrol K9s, drones and their aviation unit, among others.
Authorities used a pair of Joceli Coutinho’s flip flops to familiarize Remington with Joceli Coutinho’s scent.
After they deployed Remington on scene, it took him nine minutes and less than half a mile to find Joceli Coutinho. Authorities said video technology also helped them narrowing down the search area.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@usatodayco.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez.
Please support Southwest Florida community journalism and stay informed about Southwest Florida news by subscribing to The News-Press and Naples Daily News; download the free News-Press or Naples Daily News app, and sign up for daily briefing email newsletter, food & dining and growth & development newsletters here and here.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: ‘If they find him, it’s a miracle,’ family of rescued man says
Reporting by Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
