In what can only be described as a miracle with paws, a 2-year-old Arizona boy who vanished into the wilderness was safely found — thanks to an unlikely hero: a ranch dog named Buford.
Little Boden Allen disappeared Monday evening from his family’s home in Seligman, Arizona, a remote area about 100 miles south of the Grand Canyon.
Wearing only a tank top and pajama pants, the toddler wandered into rugged terrain known to be home to mountain lions, coyotes, and even bears.
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office launched an all-out search, with more than 40 people, helicopters, and even rangers joining the effort. The tension grew as a Department of Public Safety helicopter spotted two mountain lions nearby during the search.
But early Tuesday morning, 16 hours after Boden went missing, rancher Scottie Dunton spotted something unusual on his property — his dog, Buford, walking along the fence line with a tiny blonde-haired boy at his side.
“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. “I had heard about the missing child this morning, so I knew it was him.”
When Dunton asked the toddler what he had done all night, Boden simply replied, “I laid up under a tree.”
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Buford, a large Anatolian Pyrenees known for protecting livestock from coyotes, had apparently found the boy and guided him through at least a mile of treacherous terrain to the ranch.
“He went through some rough country,” said Dunton. “It’s all mountains and canyons and boulder piles… rough for adults, let alone a 2-year-old.”
Dunton called the boy’s survival and Buford’s protective instinct nothing short of remarkable.
“He loves kids,” Dunton said. “And I imagine he wouldn’t leave him once he’d found him.”
