Family dog stays with two-year-old who went missing in the woods for two days until she is found
A two-year-old girl's family is hailing their dog as a hero after she stayed by the missing toddler's side for nearly two days until she was ultimately found.
The toddler, Charlee Campbell, went missing from her grandmother's home in Lebanon Junction, Kentucky last week on Thursday around 10 am, according to WISTV. When Charlee's grandmother woke up in the morning, she found the door open with the toddler and her dog missing. The girl is reportedly autistic.
The girl had reportedly wandered into the woods and multiple search crews took two days to find the child. When the search crew found the toddler, she was not alone and her loyal dog, Penny the pit bull was by her side as they both returned home safely on Saturday.
Charlee's grandmother, Beth Campbell, while talking to WIS-TV, said: "This is our hero right here."
Campbell told the news outlet that she believes that the dog stayed by her granddaughter's side the entire time she was missing. Campbell, while talking about Penny, said: "When my dog didn't come home, and my baby wasn't home, she was not going to leave that baby until she got here."
The Bullitt County Sheriff's Office said that the dog arrived home just moments before Charlee was found by neighbors. The police department, in a statement on Facebook, said: "Charlee's amazing survival story continued tonight when she walked up on a porch on Roy Layne Road this evening."
"The homeowners realized who she was and contacted authorities. Ironically, her dog returned home on its own a few minutes prior to Charlee approaching the homeowners," the statement added.
The officers said that Charlee had no obvious serious injuries although she appeared dehydrated and had some tick bites. After the toddler was found, she was taken to a local hospital for evaluation on Saturday, according to reports.
"We cannot thank enough the firefighters, EMT's, dispatchers, search teams, other public safety agencies and the volunteer searchers from the community," authorities said on Facebook.
Although Charlee returned home safe, police officials have said that they will launch an investigation into the child's disappearance, reports state.