NORTH PORT – It’s a sad ending to a search for missing Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office K9, Edo.


Monday morning, Edo’s body was found in North Port at the corner of S. Cranberry Blvd. and Lemay Lane. He went missing Saturday night.


“We’ve had multiple resources, from both the CCSO as well as North Port Police, our volunteer service aids,” North Port P.D. Public Information Officer Josh Taylor said.


Even drones were flying in an attempt to locate Edo.


“Unfortunately this (Monday) morning just around 10:00, give or take we received a phone call. Basically what happened was, a resident was walking her dog here and found the dog deceased in the woods,” Taylor said.


Taylor said initial observations of Edo did not show any signs of outward bodily injury, but he was hit by a car.




Authorities do not know how Edo managed to escape from his kennel. It’s possible for trained K9’s to wander, but it’s not likely.


“It seems like a very brief time period that the dog was left unattended, so it’s definitely something that’s concerning in terms of how the dog got out and how it was able to get far away so quickly,” CCSO Public Information Officer Katie Heck said.


Sheriff’s Deputy K9’s are not trained to be vicious at all times. In fact, Edo was quite the opposite.


“He has a very good disposition; he was a friendly dog,” Heck said. “His handler said anyone could approach him and call him by his name and the dog could be friendly and also approachable.”


There are still uncertainties at this point in the investigation, but one thing is for certain: Edo is already missed, especially by his handler, Deputy First Class Sean Davoli.


“Generally a K9 handler spends more time with their police K9 than they do with their own family,” Heck said. “It’s a full time partner who rides in his car with him everyday, so understandably, their whole family has suffered a loss today as well as the entire sheriff’s office.”


The investigations into Edo’s death are ongoing.