During the early morning hours of 9/28/26, K9 Dundee of the Lee County Sheriff's Office (Florida) was killed in the line of duty.
K9 Dundee was assisting deputies in the 1st Precinct in apprehending a suspect. Lee County Sheriff's deputies had responded to the Island Vista Estates in North Fort Myers after reports described there had been recent burglaries and suspicious individuals running away from law enforcement.
Arrest reports indicate that a sergeant had approached a vehicle near the Island Vista Estates community that had been parked illegally and smelled of marijuana. Five people were inside the vehicle and told not to leave.
However, investigators say one person ran away from the scene. Deputy Chala, along with K-9 Dundee, responded and was assigned in locating this suspect.
K9 Dundee successfully tracked and apprehended the suspect in the woods. K9 Dundee became unresponsive after the arrest and was later pronounced deceased at Blue Pearl Hospital.
At the time of this posting, Sheriff Marceno said that the necropsy to determine K9 Dundee's death is still underway, but had reason to believe Dundee suffered from a medical emergency, and not a gun shot or stab wound.
K9 Dundee joined the Lee County Sheriff's Office in February 2024 and faithfully served their agency and community ever since. He was certified in both patrol and narcotics detection and, during his career, completed 174 deployments and was directly responsible for 28 apprehensions.
As with all police K9s, K9 Dundee was more than just a K9. He was a member of the Lee County Sheriff's Office family. He ran toward danger without hesitation, trusting his handler and his brothers and sisters that worked beside him.
Our prayers and condolences for K9 Dundee's handler and his partners at the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
