ROSCOMMON (WWJ) – A missing 3-year-old boy has been found safe after wandering more than half a mile from his home, all thanks to the work of a Michigan State Police dog.
It all unfolded Monday afternoon in Roscommon Township – near Houghton Lake – when Roscommon County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a home because the young boy had been missing for at least 20 minutes.
The child’s mother and neighbors had been searching, but were unable to locate the toddler in what the sheriff’s office describes as “a very remote area of the county, mostly wooded and swamp.”
Trooper Adam Whited and his K9 partner Loki were working in the area and responded directly to the scene to immediately begin a track for the toddler. After tracking more than three miles, Trooper Whited and K9 Loki found the missing child who was barefoot in a remote, wooded area, approximately a half mile from the home.
The child had made it past two small marshes, through the woods, north of his home, according to the sheriff’s office. He was alive and in good health when Trooper Whited located him. Trooper Whited and Loki escorted the boy out of the woods, carrying him “piggy-back style,” to awaiting deputies at the nearest road.
“This tiny explorer was checked-out by Houghton Lake EMS, before being reunited with his mother,” police officials said in a Facebook post.
“Missing children are always very intense investigations with multiple agencies responding and working against the clock, with a goal to ultimately make a joyous unification in the end. Thank you to all of the agencies and individuals involved in this response including the Michigan State Police K9, Michigan State Police Aviation, Michigan State Police Drone Unit, Houghton Lake Ambulance, Roscommon Township Fire, and the All County Search and Rescue Group who were on standby from around the state.”
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