GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson says a new search and rescue K9 that the department wants to purchase would bring a new set of skills to the field.

The Sheriff’s Office has four dogs on its K9 team that are trained to detect bombs, identify drugs, and track people.

But the new dog -- outfitted with a GPS collar -- would operate off-leash and be trained to find missing persons and stay with victims until police arrive.

The county Board of Commissioners could give final approval for the $75,000 purchase, which includes the dog, training and outfitting, when it meets on Wednesday, May 14.

Commissioners gave the purchase an initial approval during a committee meeting held last week.

Genesee County Sheriff’s Capt. Richard Cronkright told commissioners the new K9

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