K9 finds missing child with autism clinging to tree at small pond in Massachusetts
K9 Titan brought officers to a stream and followed ii to a small pond
By Jamy Pombo Sesselman & Sera Congi
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MILFORD, Massachusetts (WCVB) — A police K-9 rescued a missing child with autism who was found clinging to a tree at a small pond in Milford, Massachusetts, on Monday.
Police received a 911 call just before 4 p.m. from a parent reporting that her 8-year-old, nonverbal son, who has autism, left their home through a first-floor window and was nowhere to be found on the property.
“My mom had it not even halfway open, and with his strength, he just opened the window fully,” said Kimberly Rivera, the boy’s sister. “Mom, his dad and myself, we were destroyed thinking the worst could have happened.”
As patrol units searched for the child, Milford police K-9 Officer Brian Sanchioni and K-9 Titan began a track of the area. Titan quickly began showing a heightened interest in a long stream of water across the street from the child’s residence.
“I trusted (Titan), pulled me to where he was following odor,” Sanchioni said. “He eventually jumped into the water.”
After following the stream for about 600 feet, Titan went under a small bridge and found the missing child clinging to a small tree on the bank of a pond.
“(Titan) started barking alerting me that he found someone. As I got up to his location, we saw the boy partially submerged in the water up to his stomach,” Sanchioni said. “He looked scared, he was holding onto a tree.”
“As soon as we saw him, I gave him the biggest hug,” Rivera said.
K-9 Titan’s ability to track is especially key for those with autism and other conditions.
“The autistic community, Alzheimer’s, dementia … they’re not yelling out to us,” Milford Police Department Chief Robert Tusino said. “So it’s literally one-dimensional. We have to find them.”
The child was reunited with his mother before being taken to Milford Regional Medical Center for an evaluation.
“I believe that without that dog we would not have been able to find my little brother,” Rivera said.
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