John Stolarski’s Old Newspaper Clippings

With the exception of his first two years in the Force, John Stolarski spent his entire career as a Police Dog Services handler.

Throughout this career, John clipped newspaper articles about members who he had worked with.

Despite the fact that John has passed away, his family has agreed for us to re-post these articles for the interest of RCMP Veterans and current members of the Force.

SULTAN’S SLEUTHING STINGS CRIMINALS

Photograph of RCMP Police Service Dog “Sultan.”

A four-footed policeman with the imposing name “Sultan” is rapidly establishing himself as the nemesis of Cape Breton’s criminal element.

Sulton, a two-year-old German Shepherd, is one of 21 tracking dogs in service with the RCMP throughout Canada.  Since his assignment to Sydney sub-division eight months ago Sultan’s incredible performance record has given local police a completely new concept of the service dog’s role in modern crime detection.

Time after time in recent months, the names of Sultan and RCMP dog master Constable Don Marston have figured prominently in news reports of a wide range of investigations from every section of the island.  In addition to drawing the plaudits of municipal police, Sultan’s versatility has gone a long way toward changing the public image of the police dog as solely rescuer of lost persons.

This increasing demand for Sultan’s services has not come as a matter of coincidence.  The RCMP has gone all out to encourage municipal forces to take advantage of the services of its famed canine detectives.

ENTHUSED

Constable Marston attributes Sultan’s success to the co-operation received from the various local departments.  The results of this inter-force co-operation have so enthused local investigators that already there are predictions that some departments will have their own service dogs in the not too distant future.

One of the remarkable aspects of Sultan’s sleuthing feats is that most have been accomplished in cities and towns where pavement and heavy pedestrian traffic were long thought to be too great a stumbling block for even the keenest of the dogs.

Constable Maraton began testing Sultan’s effectiveness in urban areas during trial runs here last summer.  The trial runs and subsequent on the job successes have left no doubt that the dogs can operate in even the most heavily travelled areas with convincing effect.

In one case here last winter Sultan tracked two culprits in a Whitney Pier break over an area of several blocks which had just been travelled by hundreds of school children on their way to morning classes.

DOUBLE ARREST

Two youths who abandoned a stolen car on Hospital Street last fall were tracked over 17 blocks.  The dog led police directly to the home of one of the youths then carried on around the block to the door of a restaurant where the second culprit was located.

At North Sydney, CNR police called on Sultan last winter after a break had been discovered in a freight car at the terminal wharf.  The dog picked up the trail, and followed it for over two miles discovering first the stolen goods then carrying on to the home of the culprit.

The story has been the same throughout the industrial area.  At Dominion, a potential tragedy was averted when Sultan un-covered a case of stolen dynamite caps before they could be tampered with by a pair of juveniles who hid them at the bottom of a wooded ravine.

On another occasion, Sultan led North Sydney police from the scene on one break, discovered a second break enroute then continued on to the home of the guilty party.

Sultan also played a key role in the investigation which lead to the conviction of three Winnipeg men on break charges here two months ago.  The dog proved an invaluable aid in keeping track of the trial during the six days they were kept under surveillance by City Police and RCMP.  During the course of the this probe Sultan reversed his usual method of operation by leading police to the scene of two breaks committed by the visiting break artists.

Incidents such as these are common throughout the amazing total of 90 cases in which Sultan has been used during the eight month period.  That figures out to an average of two cases a week and represents a busy session in the life of any dog.

SILENT

Another feature in the dog’s increased activity in the urban areas is the fact that they are trained to remain completely silent while working a scent.  Constable Marsden has followed Sultan through heavily populated areas on many occasions without sleeping residents ever being aware of their passage.  Unlike the movie version of the continually baying bloodhound, the RCMP service dog seldom lets his quarry known that he is being followed.

Important in assessing the dog’s success in the 90 cases he has worked is the fact that convictions have been obtained in virtually every instance.

Police feel this record not only represents a big step forward in detection but should prove a boom to prevention by giving food for thought to anyone contemplating a venture into the crime field.

While the service dog’s field of operation continues to expand, the never ending task of searching for lost persons continues to be an important part of his job.  With the onset of the outdoor months of summer and fall Sultan will undoubtedly be called on to search out the usual number of lost children, hunters and fishermen.

The service dog usually remains in harness for an average of eight years and even at his present blistering pace, Sultan can look forward to adding a lot of new laurels to his already distinguished record.

WARREN BROTHERS PLEAD NOT GUILTY

POLICE ESCORT – Kenneth and Norman Warren, wearing handcuffs and under RCMP escort, are seen leaving Victoria County Court House in Baddeck yesterday after they entered not guilty pleas to charged of non-capital murder arising out of the death of taxi driver Everett macLean of Sydney last September.

Cape Breton Post – May 3, 1972 – Ingonish brothers, Kenneth Warren, 24 and Norman Warren, 23, pleaded not guilty in Supreme Court at Baddeck yesterday to separate charges of non-capital murder arising out of last September’s beating death of Sydney tax driver Everett ‘Deacon‘ MacLean.

The Victoria County Grand Jury returned true bills against the brothers yesterday and the first 23 Crown witnesses will give evidence today as trial of Norman Warren opens before Chief Justice Gordon S. Cowan.

Presenting the Crown case are Prosecutors Donald C. MacNeil, QC, and Simon MacDonald, Mrs. Melinda MacLean and Arthur Mollon appear for the defence.

Mrs. MacLean objected to the trial of Norman Warren taking place first,  which she said was a departure from the preliminary hearing proceedings when evidence against Kenneth Warren was presented first.

She told Chief Justice Cowan the defence would need more time to prepare its case, but she did not argue for an adjournment.

Chief Justice Cowan said owing to earlier commitments in court at Port Hood next Tuesday and Wednesday, trial of Kenneth Warren would be commenced next Thursday.

The Warren brothers, escorted by RCMP back and forth from County Jail in Sydney yesterday, appeared in court handcuffed.

They were arrested last September by RCMP officers shortly after the battered body of the Briand’s taxi driver was found at the rocky base of a 30-foot cliff at Green Cove in northern Cape Breton.

His burned out taxi was recovered on a wharf at North Ingonish and the accused were taken into custody in a summer cottage closed for the season.

SEARCH ENDS SUCCESSFULLY

With less than three hours of daylight left yesterday, Royal Canadian Mounted Police conducted an intensive search of thick bush lands behind the Heather Park trailer court at Sydney River.

Within an hour, and over a mile from the court, the search ended successfully.  Four little tots, Sharon, David, Paul and Bernard, were found crossing the field.  They had “been for a walk” and had not realized they were lost.

As a police “wailer” siren was sounded to bring other search parties back from the woods, shots were heard across the valley presumably fired by hunters.

“This is no time of the year for kids to be lost in the woods.” an RCMP constable said.

The children: Sharon, four, rather of Mr. and Mrs Gene Bell; David, three, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Barrington; Paul, who will be four next month, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Forsythe, and Bernard, three and a half, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Crowley, all live in the trailer court community.

Their mothers did not become alarmed until about 3 p.m. when it was then discovered that the four little ones had been seen walking off into the woods at the back of the park about 2 p.m.

Police were notified, and by 4 p.m. 15 constables, some of who were called in from off-duty, assembled at the trailer court.  Stuff Sgt. Blizard set up a control point and search parties were found from the 35 men who had offered to help in the search.

Tracker dogs, Axel, with Cpl. John Stolarski and, Spartan, with Consts. Don Ray were used in the immediate area.

The children were spotted at 5 p.m. by Cpl. Joe MacDonald and Const. John Clarke who took a back road in the four-wheel drive Scout car.

“We were lucky to see the red jackets of two of the children against a dark green background.,  Cpl. MacDonald said.

A second police cruiser was called, but the children refused to ride with the police and would not enter a car until one of the mothers arrived.

They had walked right through the woods and across two fields.  They were heading back towards the court when found.  Unharmed, they were tired from the exertion walking, and hungry.

When they arrived back at the court they wondered about what “all the people are here for.”

Gene Bell, father of Sharon, speaking yesterday for all the parents, said “How can we thank all those men who just came out here to help.  We are very grateful for what they have done.”

Cpl. Stolarski, who had worked on shift until 2 a.m. Friday morning,. came out of the woods with Axel, his dog.  He usually works alone, or with a single constable when on a search to give Axel full concentration.

He had been called out at 5 a.m. to begin a search at dawn in the Baddeck area for two hunters reported missing.  he had been in the woods until noon yesterday without success.  He then discovered the men he had been searching for had been home in bed since 4 a.m.

He was very happy to see the little ones arrived safely.

1961 – 1967 -Photograph of RCMP Constable John Stolarski (Dog Handler) and with his first Police Service Dog  “Caesar” (Source of photo – Mildred Stolarski).