It’s an unfortunate reality that the longer somebody goes missing, the less likely their loved ones are to see them again.
It’s a big part of why police departments and other first responders push back against the myth that you need to wait 24 hours before you report someone missing. And it’s also why it becomes such big news when someone is discovered unharmed after disappearing for months at a time.
But while it’s always a relief in the rare occasions when this happens, it becomes even more special when we discover that the missing person owes their safety to a dedicated dog .
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On June 28, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office was closing in on a possible location of a six-year-old girl who was last seen on May 26.
According to People , her father’s rocky custody history with the girl led authorities to suspect that he had abducted her.
Their search led them to the father’s property in the Pea Ridge Community area, where police used thermal imaging similar to the tech shown here and drones to help narrow down her whereabouts.
But because they were still dealing with a pretty large area, the Sheriff’s Office brought a bloodhound working with them named Fred onto the scene.
As the Sheriff’s Office stated on Facebook, they gave Fred an item belonging to the father to smell, after which he led officers down a foot path and eventually to what they described as an “outbuilding.”
And once he sniffed a door knob and sat in front of it, police forced it open only to find the child and her father sitting in the shack.
And based on the way DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray described this building, it was a good thing Fred found her when he did.
As he told People , “There was no ventilation and air conditioning inside the small outbuilding. There was barely any food or water for the child.”
He also reported a strong ammonia smell from a nearby five-gallon bucket, which was likely made worse by the lack of ventilation.
And it sounded like the little girl was just as excited to see Fred as he was to see her.
As Fred’s handler, K9 Deputy Richard Tidwell said, “He licked her face and she gave him a big hug.”
And once she was relocated to safety and her father was charged, Tidwell said Fred received a reward of chicken and pizza crusts.
In his words, “I praised him and loved on him. I pulled the chicken reward out of my pocket. He ate the chicken and wanted to meet other people as if to say, ‘Look what I’ve done.'”
h/t: People , Facebook | Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office
