Foley K9 Vidar Plunges Through Ceiling Tracking Burglary Suspect, Earns Award With Handler

FOLEY, Ala. — A late-night burglary alarm, a building surrounded by officers and a police dog that briefly vanished through a ceiling have earned Foley K9 Vidar and his handler, Cpl. Mark Whorton, a Smiles Behind the Shield Award.

The recognition stems from a September break-in at Benson’s Appliance Center, where Vidar, a 3-year-old police dog, helped officers track down a man police say had broken into the business. The surprise award presentation drew the entire Foley Police Department K9 unit, which turned out to honor Vidar and Whorton.

A call no business owner wants

For Jordyn and Chuck Squires, who own Benson’s Appliance Center, the night began with the kind of call every business owner dreads.

“The security system went off, and we had an intruder at the building,” Chuck Squires said.

Foley police officers arrived within minutes. Whorton said he spotted someone as he began checking the outside of the business.

“We got down there, and I just happened to, as I started checking the business, see the suspect run back inside the building,” Whorton said. “I got the other officers there and got it surrounded.”

Police identified the man as 33-year-old Mendrell Porter. The available information did not specify the charges he faces. Any criminal charges are accusations only, and a person accused of a crime is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Vidar leads the search

With the building surrounded, officers went inside to find the suspect. Vidar led the way.

Working with Whorton, the dog tracked through the building and picked up on someone upstairs. That is when the search took an unexpected turn.

“I let him keep searching, and as he jumped over, he hit that suspended ceiling and just kind of went through,” Whorton said. “I thought he disappeared for a second, and then I realized he was looking up at me like, ‘Hey, Dad, I need some help.’”

Part of the ceiling gave way, but Vidar was not hurt. Whorton credited the dog’s harness with preventing a worse outcome.

“Fortunately, I had him on the harness, so he didn’t fall all the way through, and I was able to kind of fish him back up and get him back up to me,” he said.

Suspended ceilings, the drop-in tile systems common in commercial buildings, hang from wires below the actual structure and are not designed to bear weight. A space above one can look like a solid surface to a dog searching at full speed, which is part of what makes building searches unpredictable for K9 teams.

Business owners grateful for the response

The Squireses said they were impressed by what they saw from the officers and the dog, and they were concerned first about Vidar’s well-being.

“It was very impressive,” Chuck Squires said. “We wanted to make sure the dog was okay. We want to thank the city of Foley and the police officers who were there.”

Training makes the difference

Situations like the one inside Benson’s Appliance Center are why police K9 teams train as often as they do. Building searches, tracking and working in unfamiliar spaces are all part of the skills a patrol dog and handler practice together, and a dog that has trained for surprises is better prepared when the unexpected happens on a real call.

Police dogs are often used in searches like this one because they can locate a hidden person by scent far faster than officers can by checking room by room, and they can do it while officers stay in safer positions. Tracking a person inside a closed building, and signaling when someone is hiding in an area officers cannot see, is one of the core tasks K9 teams are trained to perform.

Sgt. Carlos Lizarraga of the Foley Police Department praised Whorton’s work with the unit.

“It’s an honor to have Mark, he’s a hard worker, he’s been with us for three or four years now. He’s done a tremendous job for our K9 unit,” Lizarraga said.

Partner at work, family at home

Like many police dogs, Vidar lives with his handler. For the Whorton family, that makes him much more than a piece of police equipment.

“It’s really nice to have him at the house because not only is he a tool, but he’s also my husband’s partner at the end of the day,” said Heather Whorton, the corporal’s wife.

Handlers typically care for their dogs around the clock, which builds the trust and communication a K9 team relies on during a search. That bond was on display when Vidar, dangling through a broken ceiling, looked to Whorton for help.

A surprise for Vidar and his handler

The award presentation came with a twist of its own. Members of the Foley Police Department’s entire K9 unit showed up to surprise Vidar and Whorton as they received the Smiles Behind the Shield Award.

Whorton said the support his unit receives from the city and department is a big part of its success.

“We are fortunate to have a city and a police department that supports our K9 unit very well,” Whorton said.

What happens next

The case against Porter will move through the court system. Police had not released further details about the charges or his court dates. As with any criminal case, the accusations must be proven in court, and Porter is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

For business owners, the incident is also a reminder of the value of a monitored security system. In this case, the alarm at Benson’s Appliance Center alerted the owners and allowed police to arrive within minutes, while the suspect was still on the property.

Key facts

• Who was honored: Foley police K9 Vidar, 3, and his handler, Cpl. Mark Whorton
• Award: Smiles Behind the Shield Award
• Incident: A September break-in at Benson’s Appliance Center in Foley
• Business owners: Jordyn and Chuck Squires
• Suspect: Police identified the man as Mendrell Porter, 33
• What happened: Officers surrounded the building, and Vidar tracked the suspect inside, briefly falling partway through a suspended ceiling before Whorton pulled him back up by his harness