Lafayette County Deputy Sheriff Fred Norder and K-9 Cody received a “Meritorious Tracking Award” as a result of their efforts to assist in the 2013 homicide investigation of the deaths of Dean, Gary and Chloe Thoreson. 

The Lafayette County K-9 team was nominated by City of Madison Police Sgt. Chris Boyd.  Sgt. Boyd also nominated K-9 units from Madison and Green County as those K-9 units worked side-by-side during the K-9 search portion of the homicide investigation. 

The award nomination was submitted to the WI Law Enforcement Canine Handler’s Association (WLECHA).
K-9 Cody located no less than  seven pieces of evidence (clothing and shoes) in the space of approximately 1 1/4  miles, which subsequently helped to link suspect Jaren Kuester to the homicides.

Cody is a Belgian Malinois and he began his service with the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office in November of 2009. 
Deputy Norder has been with the sheriff’s office since 1997 and has been a K-9 handler since 2002.  This is the second Meritorious Tracking Award for Deputy Norder.  He and K-9 Riley received statewide recognition for narcotics detection and tracking efforts in 2007.

“I’m very proud of the on-going success of our K-9 Program and the dedicated service of Deputy Norder,” said Lafayette County Sheriff Scott Pedley. “This award is another fine example of the continuing leadership role of the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office.”