By Mike Stunson
The Charlotte Observer
GENEVA TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A K-9 with track record for helping find missing children has done it again, this time aiding in the recovery of a 3-year-old boy, Michigan authorities say.
The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office said the toddler went missing Monday, March 4, when he pried open a window and left his Geneva Township home. The boy vanished wearing only a diaper.
Authorities were called to the home 30 minutes after the boy was last seen, and a K-9 unit was requested to assist in the search, according to the sheriff.
A K-9 named Kuno and his handler, Deputy Eric Calhoun, located a footprint near the home and began tracking nearly a quarter-mile of land toward a body of water, the sheriff said.
At the same time, drone operators for South Haven Area Emergency Services spotted the child walking near a pond, according to a Facebook post from the department.
Working in conjunction with the drone operators, Kuno and Calhoun found the child just 50 yards away from the water, the sheriff said. He was in good health with only minor scratches.
The sheriff said the boy was safely returned to his family.
He was the fifth missing child Kuno and Calhoun have located, authorities said.
Kuno has been a member of the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office since 2017 and has worked alongside Calhoun in dangerous situations, MLive.com reported in 2019.
“The bond between me and K-9 Kuno is somewhat unbearable. It’s kind of like having another kid,” Calhoun told MLive. “I take him home with me at the end of my shift, he socializes with my family and then I get to take him to work and work with me for 12 hours.”
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