A dog is being credited with discovering a missing 2-year-old in Yavapai County, Arizona.
Deputies with the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a missing child who wandered off from his home on Monday. Authorities spent 16 hours searching before they received a report from a rancher roughly seven miles away.
The rancher told officials that a “young child had walked onto his property.” Upon arrival, deputies confirmed the child was the missing 2-year-old.
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Officials say the child spent the night in “rough terrain.” The child told the rancher he didn’t walk the whole night and spent some time sleeping under a tree, officials added.
The rancher said his dog had discovered the toddler while the dog was out patrolling his property. Officials said the dog “likely protected and directed the missing boy to safety.”
“When I was driving out the driveway I noticed my dog was sitting down by the entrance, and I look up and the little kid’s standing there with my dog,” the rancher said.
“Knowing that he was the missing child, it was a relief that he was alive,” he continued. “I was ecstatic that he was okay and that my dog found him.”
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“During the overnight search, the DPS [Department of Public Safety] ranger rescue helicopter said they spotted 2 mountain lions among the terrain the boy traveled,” the sheriff’s office said.
The rancher said there’s three mountain ranges between his property and the boy’s home.
“For a 2-year-old to do that, it’s insane,” he said.
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