The Santa Rosa County Sherrif’s Office incorporated bloodhounds into their agency just a year ago, but the highly-trained canines have already helped locate 9 people.

Their latest rescue was one that made headlines around the country.

In early September, 3-year-old Aedric Hughes was at his grandmother’s home in the Pensacola suburb of Pace while his mom was at work. Aedric is autistic and managed to unlock the deadbolt on the door and wander out of the house while his grandmother was using the bathroom.

The toddler then headed into an extremely dense wooded area near the home.

The rescue of a special needs child can be complicated by many factors – and the dense and muddy forest where they assumed the boy was hiding or wandering through only made matters worse.

Aedric’s mother Audra Hughes was beside herself with worry:

“That’s the most terrifying words a mother can get over the phone,” she told WPEC-TV. “‘Your child is missing, get home now.'”

Deputies searched for two hours after they got the call, but could not find the little boy. That’s when they called in their special task force.

They explained in a Facebook post that they called on their trained bloodhounds – Copper and Zinc – to assist:

“Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Bloodhounds immediately began to track the area and took the K-9 handlers approximately 200 yards into an extremely wooded and muddy area.”

The dogs tracked the scent and found the boy in 28 minutes, according to Sheriff Bob Johnson.

“The Bloodhounds located the child huddled tightly under a heavy brush area where he was immediately removed and taken to awaiting EMS personnel.”

Hughes’ nightmare was finally over.

“A couple hours later the best news of my life. ‘We found your kid,'” she said. “I’m very grateful to the team. Words can’t express the excitement, the gratitude that I have.”

The Sherriff’s department posted photos of the rescue on Facebook, including a deputy carrying the toddler out of the woods.

Aedric was found roughly 200 yards into the forest in an area thick with moss and briars – so thick, in fact, that the deputies had to use a machete to cut their way through to him.

But aside from some scratches and bug bites, the child was ok.

Since their introduction in 2018, the canines have helped locate senior citizens, criminals, and now a lost child.

The Sheriff’s Office held a press conference not long after the incident to answer questions and honor the dog that made the discovery.

Aedric also received a larger-than-life stuffed dog of his own to remind him of the furry friends he now has in law enforcement.

During the press conference, Sheriff Johnson said of the dogs “All they do is track people and they are really, really good at it.” So good, in fact, that Zinc – who is still just a pup – just took 2nd place in a manhunt field competition that involved tracking teams from Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas.

Be sure to scroll down to see video from the press conference as well as the original Facebook post where kudos to the bloodhounds and officers poured in from around the country.

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Source: WPEC-TV, CBS News, Miami Herald, Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office via Facebook