A heroic dog tracked down a missing two-year-old girl, finding her alone and ‘scared’ in the New Hampshire woods as temperatures dangerously dropped.
The toddler was reported missing at 4.07pm on October 10 by her mother, who said that her daughter had been missing for nearly one hour in Dorchester.
Authorities promptly started a large-scale rescue effort because of the child’s ‘age and the dropping temperatures,’ the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said.
The rescue operation – which involved more than 90 volunteers – took officials to the ‘dense’ woods.
That was where New England K-9 Search and Rescue volunteer Jeremy Corson and his 7-year-old German Shepherd dog Freyja sprung into action.
Corson said to WHDH: ‘I was out the door pretty much immediately when I heard “two-year-old”.
‘It’s like go go go right out of the gate, so I basically pulled over, got the dog, and started running into the woods.’
Jeremy Corson and Freyja, his 7-year-old German Shepherd, were responsible for finding a missing New Hampshire toddler
Corson has been a K-9 search-and-rescue professional since July 2012
The girl was reported missing at 4.07pm on October 10, New Hampshire Fish and Game said
Corson is a full-time software engineer based in Massachusetts but has volunteered as a K-9 search-and-rescue professional since July 2012.
‘Time is of the essence with a two-year-old,’ Corson told the Washington Post. ‘Both because they’re young and because the more time passes, the more they can travel.’
The girl, whose identity is unknown, had disappeared from her home’s gated front yard at 3.15pm alongside her family’s two dogs.
The pets had seemingly ‘pushed through’ a spot where a wooden fence meets a metal wire fence.
Christopher McKee, a sergeant with New Hampshire Fish and Game, said: ‘The gate was secured, everything was locked.’
The girl’s shoes were found about two hours into the search, and the family dogs returned to their house moments later.
However, the girl was still missing.
Now, she was completely alone – with the temperature in Dorchester expected to drop into the 20s.
Corson said he was ‘out the door pretty much immediately’ when he heard a two-year-old was missing
Corson is a volunteer with New England K-9 Search and Rescue
Authorities were concerned about what dropping temperatures could mean for the toddler
Corson told the Washington Post that the New Hampshire woods were ‘so thick’ that he could not see ‘much more than a couple feet’ ahead.
Then, Freyja picked something up.
Corson said to WMUR: ‘On the second pass, the dog pulled us back to our previous pass and started investigating and started displaying that human scent behavior.’
His dog’s ‘incredible nose,’ Corson wrote on social media, took him right to the ‘scared but safe little girl who was ready for her bath and bedtime.’
Corson revealed the toddler initially thought he was her father.
He said her first first words were: ‘I’m cold, I think I’m ready for a bath.’
‘That just broke my heart,’ he added.
New Hampshire Fish and Game said the two-year-old girl was found at 7.52pm.
Corson said Freyja’s ‘incredible nose’ took him to the missing toddler
Freyja was partnered with Corson in May 2018, according to a Facebook post from New England K-9 Search and Rescue (Photo posted May 20, 2018)
Now, she is widely recognized as a hero (Photo posted May 20, 2018)
She was carried out to an ambulance and taken to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for evaluation.
However, Corson said, there was one final sweet moment between the missing girl and his dog, who ‘loves kids.’
He said: ‘The subject in this case was alert and ready and likes dogs, so I was able to give her a ball and have her throw it to Frejya.’
The full search effort involved New Hampshire Fish and Game, State Troopers, New England K-9, Upper Valley Search and Rescue Team, Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team, Canaan Fire Department, Rumney Fire Department and Grafton Fire Departments, authorities said.
A helicopter and drones were also used.
Corson said: ‘This is why I signed up to do it.
‘It’s taken me thirteen years to get here, but I wouldn’t be anywhere else but that spot.’
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