File Photo – Lake County Sheriff’s Canine Axel | Provided Photo

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said one of their canines located a man, who had to be hospitalized, in a wooded area Friday after he went missing from a shopping center near Deerfield.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Kevin Gayer and Canine Axel were called to assist in a missing person search Friday evening.

A highly intoxicated man walked away from a shopping complex in unincorporated Deerfield.

His loved ones were concerned for his safety because of his level of intoxication, the sheriff’s office said.

Axel began conducting a track and located the man in a heavily wooded area nearby.

Paramedics were called to the area of the Extra Space Storage, 991 Milwaukee Avenue in unincorporated Deerfield, to evaluate the man around 10:30 p.m.

He was transported to a hospital because of his alcohol level, the sheriff’s office said.

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Axel joined the sheriff’s office last year after completing his eight-week training at TOPS Kennel in Grayslake in June 2022.

Last week, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Canine Zeus assisted a local police department in searching for a missing boy.

The child, who has special needs, was located quickly after Zeus tracked him down on August 25.