A 2-year-old boy who spent the night alone in the remote Arizona wilderness and walked 7 miles through mountain lion territory was led to safety by a rancher’s dog, authorities said Tuesday.
A huge search operation was launched when the boy disappeared from his home in Seligman, Arizona, about 100 miles south of Grand Canyon National Park, at about 5 p.m. Monday. He was wearing just a blue tank top and pajama pants, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said.
The sheriff’s office said that more than 40 rescuers, including Department of Public Safety rangers, joined the search, and a DPS helicopter spotted two mountain lions in the area.
But 16 hours after he went missing, rancher Scottie Dunton found him on his land 7 miles away. The boy was safe and well and had apparently been led to his property by the rancher’s dog, Buford.
“I got in my truck to go to town and I see Buford walking down the side of the fence with a little blond kid with him,” Dunton told NBC affiliate KPNX of Phoenix. “I had heard about the missing child this morning, so I knew it was him.”
Dunton asked the boy if he had walked all night, and he answered, “No, I laid up under a tree. “
The beef farmer said the boy was in good shape but upset. The rancher traced the boy’s steps and found the dog had escorted him for at least a mile. He said Buford, an Anatolian Pyrenees, normally patrols his land and wards off coyotes.
“He went through some rough country, it’s all mountains and canyons and boulder piles, and it’s rough for adults, let alone for 2-year-old kids,” Dunton said. “He did a remarkable job to go 7 miles like he did.”
Dunton added that lions, coyotes, and the occasional bear can be found in the area.
Dunton said of Buford, “He loves kids, and I imagine he wouldn’t leave him once he’d found him.”
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