Bloodhound in 'Right Place at Right Time' Rescues 12-Year-Old Lost in Wyoming Desert for 19 Hours
A Colorado bloodhound was called in to help find a missing 12-year-old, and the pooch did just that, tracking the little girl to a Wyoming desert, PEOPLE confirms.
The girl, who the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office indicated is Brianna Weinert, left her family’s home around 9:30 p.m. local time on July 1 and had been missing for several hours before authorities called in Jessie, a 6-year-old bloodhound with Colorado’s Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to help, according to both the Natrona and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Offices.
As luck would have it, Jessie and her handler, Deputy Kelly Fosler, were in Wyoming on an unrelated call when authorities asked them to help look for the girl on July 2, police said.
“It turned out they were in the right place at the right time,” Jefferson County authorities wrote in a Facebook post. “Diverted from their trip home for a request to assist in the search for a missing 12-year-old.”
A post shared by Davidson's Jessica Ridgeway (@jessie_the_workin_bloodhound) on Jul 5, 2019 at 9:14am PDT
Jessie and Deputy Fosler headed out into the nearly 90-degree weather and a “cactus dense area,” but “that didn’t stop Jessie; and in spite of wearing a cooling vest, she needed to take a 20-minute break during the search. But she wasn’t done,” authorities wrote in the Facebook post.
After about two hours, Jessie pulled her handler back the way they came and led Fosler to a backyard where they found the girl hiding near a large bush.
“When she was found she was just sunburned and dehydrated, not severely but she was out in the elements for a little while,” Mike Taplin, a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, tells PEOPLE.
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“When Deputy Fosler found her she gave her some water and let her feed her dog some treats, and then got her to the sheriff who returned her to her family,” Taplin says.
The Colorado office shared photos of the dog lounging and Deputy Fosler smiling alongside the pooch.
“We’re thankful this young girl is going to be OK, and we’re thankful Deputy Fosler and K9 Jessie were in Wyoming and able to respond to help another agency and this family,” authorities added in the Facebook post.
A post shared by Davidson's Jessica Ridgeway (@jessie_the_workin_bloodhound) on Jul 7, 2019 at 2:47pm PDT
Jessie celebrated her win on her Instagram page in a post showing her and Deputy Fosler striking a pose.
“I found a missing 12 year old!” the post read. “She had been gone for 19 hours, and was sunburnt when I found her but ok.”
The Natrona County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE.
