3-year-old with autism is missing in Florida – bloodhounds find him in 30 minutes

Usually, when a person comes up missing, the police will search the general area where they were last seen. If that fails, they can bring in search and rescue dogs to help track the individual in an effort to find them. In the case of a child coming up missing time is of the essence when finding them.

Calling in the hounds

Facebook/Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office FL Source: Facebook/Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office FL

The Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office, which is located on the panhandle of Florida near Pensacola, found themselves having to deploy their bloodhounds in the search for Aedric Hughes, a missing toddler with autism. This was after deputies with the department had searched for hours. Volunteers involved with the search had begun to grow worried and so bloodhounds from the department were deployed.

“I got a phone call at work at about 11:00 a.m.,” said Audra Hughes, the child’s mother. “My mother was watching him. It was one of those, she went to the bathroom to get ready and he undid the deadbolt to the front door. He let himself out and went for a little adventure.”

The bloodhounds were quickly able to find the missing child

Facebook/Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office FL Source: Facebook/Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office FL

Within less than 30 minutes of being deployed, the pair of bloodhounds had found the toddler. Surprisingly, the three-year-old was only about 200 yards away from his home. He was found in an extremely muddy, wooded area huddled under some heavy brush.

The quick work of the bloodhounds kept a serious situation from becoming more dire. In addition to becoming injured, the child could have come across dangerous wildlife native to the area, including snakes and alligators.

Aedric was found only 200 yards from home

Facebook/Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office FL Source: Facebook/Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office FL

The brush was so thick that deputies had to cut their way to the child using a machete. Aedric was removed from the area and taken to EMS personnel who were waiting nearby. The department posted about the incident on its Facebook:

Special Needs Child Found Unharmed.On 9/15/19 just before 11:00 am, Deputies with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s…

Posted by Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office FL onMonday, September 16, 2019

The bloodhound’s ability to track is well known

Facebook/Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office FL Source: Facebook/Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office FL

The toddler is not the first person that the dogs have been brought in to find. Since they became a part of the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office in 2018, they have helped locate nine individuals. The people that they have helped in finding include the missing child, senior citizens who have wandered off, and criminals on the run from the law.

Bloodhounds, in particular, are well suited to track missing persons. The dog breed’s sense of smell is at least 1,000 times more powerful than a human. Best of all, bloodhounds can track a scent through the air or over the ground. It is these abilities that allowed the bloodhound in the search for Aedric to find him so quickly.

The department holds a press conference

WEARTV Source: WEARTV

Fortunately, the toddler only suffered bug bites and a few scratches. Later, after he had recovered, the department held a news conference. It was there that he was presented with a giant teddy bear in a sheriff’s office t-shirt. Here is a video of the press conference, which begins about seven minutes in.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.




Source: Facebook/Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office FL

H/T: Wide open Pets

Advertisement