Bloodhound tracks down prowler in North Palm Springs

A man was arrested Tuesday after a woman called police to report he was in her backyard peeking through her windows.

Deputies with the Cabazon Station were called to the 60000 block of Range View Drive in an unincorporated area of North Palm Springs around 12:15 p.m.

The woman said she confronted the prowler after she saw him looking through her windows, and then he ran away.

The sheriff’s department brought one of its newest members to the scene to track down the suspect; a 9-month-old bloodhound named ‘Windy’.

Windy and her handler, Deputy Ochoa, began training together in May and earned their first tracking certification in October.

Windy picked up the suspect’s scent and tracked him about a mile through desert and residential terrain, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. The scent led Windy to the 15000 block of Oreana Way, where deputies found the suspect at a community pool.

Deputies said they arrested 24-year-old Kent Browner, a resident of North Palm Springs, and booked him into the Smith Correctional Facility. Browner is free on bail Thursday after he posted a $3,000 bond, according to jail records.

Windy was obtained by the sheriff’s department when she was 9 weeks old. Her name, Windy, is a nod to the prevailing winds in Cabazon, her home station.

KESQ and CBS Local 2 had the honor of meeting Windy and Deputy Ochoa in May.

Although Windy has had many successful tracks, this was Windy’s first suspect find, deputies said in a release. Per bloodhound team tradition, Deputy Ochoa treated her to a cheeseburger at a local restaurant.

The sheriff’s department said the residents of Riverside County can expect great things in the future from this young bloodhound team.