Police dog who once foiled attempt to blow up a gas station dies on Thanksgiving

EVESHAM — A South Jersey police department is mourning the sudden loss of a retired K9 over the holiday weekend.

Elias, a German Shepard who served for 8 years with the Evesham police, died on Thanksgiving. He was active from December 2005 until his retirement in 2014. Police did not disclose a cause of death.

Elias worked primarily with Detective Richard Hernandez. Just before Elias' retirement, Hernandez was cited as the department's Officer of the Month after Elias detected a "substantial quantity of marijuana" during a traffic stop that also led to the discovery of a semi-automatic weapon in the vehicle.

According to the  Memorials to Fallen K-9s website, Elias also helped track down and subdue two suspects who police said were going to blow up a gas station in 2012. In 2007, he stopped a man from re-entering a home where, police said, the man attacked his ex-wife in front of their children.

The site said Elias was credited with 100 arrests during his police career.

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