HOUSE SPRINGS, Mo. — The Jefferson County Missouri Sheriff's Office announced Monday afternoon that a retired K-9 officer, Tank, has died.
In a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, the office said they were sad to announce the passing of Tank. He was euthanized last week because of hip complications.
"Tank was a valued member of the sheriff's office family and was responsible for numerous criminal apprehensions, successful tracks and narcotics being taken off the streets," the post read.
The office also expressed its condolences to Tank's handler.
5 On Your Side profiled Tank in 2019 when he helped track and catch a wanted suspect.
A lot of man-hours went into looking for the man, who was on the sheriff's most wanted list as a suspect in several car thefts.
Tank and his handler were on the scene at a nearby trailer park when the man fled. They tracked him for at least a mile before he was eventually captured. If it wasn’t for Tank, the suspect may have eluded the sheriff’s department again.
Cpl. Jason Clardy said that canine officers are not only like family to their handlers but also the entire sheriff's department.
