After a dangerous shootout that left two policemen wounded and an alleged robber dead in the eastern suburbs of San Jose, a tactical unit was tasked with looking for an armed suspect who fled the scene. It all happened during the morning rush hour of Thursday in the municipality of Curridabat, and the Directorate of Special Units became resolute on finding the suspect on the run. To this effect, they called on K-9 Officer Lyra for support.

Officer Lyra is six years old and has proudly served Fuerza Pública, the national police force of Costa Rica, for the last five years. She is a playful, medium-sized mutt (known as “zaguate”) that has traces of a hound dog, and she has a excellent track record in the force. Officer Lyra is considered to be the best K-9 asset of Fuerza Publica, and she was tasked with finding a 22-year old man who allegedly participated in a robbery at a bus stop and later in a gunfight that took place in the street and in plain daylight.

It took Officer Lyra all of five minutes to find the suspect, whose last name is Carmona and who is now in custody awaiting a court appearance that is expected to result in several criminal charges being assessed. Once Officer Lyra signaled the location of the suspect, her human handler called on officers from the Special Support Unit, which is a special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team, to take down Carmona.

Locating Carmona is one of several successful missions accomplished by Officer Lyra. She is particularly skillful in finding suspects hiding in mountainous regions and thickly wooded areas. To this end, Officer Lyra has also been crucial in locating missing hikers and tourists who get lost in our national parks. For this reason, she is a favorite among Red Cross rescuers in Costa Rica.

Source: Ministry of Public Security Official Press Release CP-0218-2015