Missing toddler rescued from water’s edge by hero police dog

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A missing toddler is back home with his family after a police dog with a track record for helping find missing children found him close to water.

The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office said a K-9 named Kuno helped to find the missing three-year-old after he went missing on Monday 4 March when he pried open a window and left his Geneva Township home.

Authorities added that the toddler vanished wearing only a diaper.

The sheriff’s office said officers were called to the home 30 minutes after the boy was last seen, and a K-9 unit was requested to assist in the search.

During the search, Kuno and his handler, Deputy Eric Calhoun, located a footprint near the home, which led to a body of water nearly a quarter-mile away, the sheriff added.

The child was then spotted by drone operators for South Haven Area Emergency Services walking near a pond, the department said in a post on Facebook.

Authorities said Kuno and Mr Calhoun found the child in good health with only minor scratches 50 yards away from the water.

Kuno has been a member of the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office since 2017 and has helped find five missing children during that time, authorities said.

Mr Calhoun told MLive in 2019 that Kuno has worked alongside him in many dangerous situations, including assisting on a narcotics bust and clearing houses for SWAT teams.

“The bond between me and K-9 Kuno is somewhat unbearable. It’s kind of like having another kid,” Mr Calhoun said. “I take him home with me at the end of my shift, he socialises with my family and then I get to take him to work and work with me for 12 hours.”