CINCINNATI—Special Agent in Charge Todd A. Wickerham of the Cincinnati Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) awarded Ms. Deana Hudgins with the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award. Ms. Hudgins currently serves as the President and Executive Director of Ohio Search and Recovery Canines (OSAR K9s).

“Ms. Hudgins has worked closely with the FBI Cincinnati Evidence Response Team, Special Agents, and law enforcement partners to help locate victims, bring healing to their families and move investigations forward,” stated Special Agent in Charge Todd Wickerham. “Her tireless efforts are an enormous service to the community and law enforcement.”

Ms. Hudgins, along with her canine partners Hunter and Tempe, have provided tremendous assistance to the FBI during several searches for crime victims. In August 2018, Ms. Hudgins worked with the Cincinnati Evidence Response Team to locate the remains of a homicide victim in the Indianapolis area. This discovery is an important piece of evidence in an ongoing MS-13 investigation in central Ohio.

In November 2018, Ms. Hudgins again assisted the Cincinnati Evidence Response Team in locating the remains of a young woman in Belpre, Ohio, who was the victim of a kidnapping and murder 35 years ago. The discovery of the victim’s remains has brought closure to her family, investigators and the community at large.

As the President and Executive Director of Ohio Search and Recovery Canines, Ms. Hudgins works to train and manage a network of highly skilled non-profit canine teams that are available to the FBI, law enforcement agencies, fire departments and emergency management agencies. Her teams specialize in the search and recovery of missing persons and deceased victims.

The Director’s Community Leadership Award was established in 1990 by the FBI to publicly recognize the achievements of individuals and organizations that make extraordinary contributions to the prevention of crime and violence in the community.

FBI Director Christopher Wray is scheduled to formally recognize Deana Hudgins during the Director’s Community Leadership Award ceremony at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in May 2019.