“I just look at a miracle, and I’m never going to forget it,” said Bodin Allen’s father
There has been a touching reunion between a 2-year-old boy who spent the night alone in the remote Arizona wilderness and the dog who found him and led him to safety.
The toddler, Bodin Allen, originally disappeared from his family’s home in Seligman on April 14, said the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.
At the time, the boy’s mother, Sarah, said her son went outside to play, NBC affiliate KPNX reported.
A 40-person search team was dispatched when Bodin wandered off.
After 16 hours of searching for the child — who was wearing a blue tank top and pajama pants when he disappeared, according to a police missing person’s poster shared via Facebook — he was discovered on the property of a rancher approximately seven miles from home.
“Upon arrival at the ranch, deputies confirmed that this indeed was the missing boy,” police said in their statement.
Scotty Dunton, who was identified as the rancher, according to KPNX, said that his dog Buford, an Anatolian Pyrenees, had discovered the child while guarding his property.
Dunton said Buford “likely protected and directed the missing boy to safety,” in an on-camera police interview.
The rancher told authorities that finding the child, who he said was “upset” but “in good shape,” was “a relief.”
On Monday, April 21, Bodin and Buford reunited for the first time since last week’s incident, KPNX reported.
“I just look at a miracle, and I’m never going to forget it,” Bodin’s dad, Corey, told the outlet.
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Since the rescue, Buford has been showered with gifts from strangers for his heroism.
“Toys, chew toys, snacks, you name it, just a little bit of everything,” said Dunton, per KPNX.
Dunton also said he checked out the tracks shortly after the rescue.
“He [Bodin] definitely walked the whole way. It was crazy. I got Buford with him for a mile. Then I got in the rocks and lost his track, but he was with him for at least a mile from my house,” Dunton recalled.
On the day of their reunion, Buford was made an honorary member of the Yavapai County Search and Rescue Team and received a special blue vest.
“It’s very rewarding to our members when a search is successful, and people aren’t really focused on who found him,” Yavapai County Search and Rescue Team 4×4 Unit Manager John Harris told KPNX. “They’re just glad that they were found, that’s the bottom line.”
In a message to PEOPLE one day after their reunion, Corey says his family now plans to raise awareness about missing children.
“We have a whistle that stays on [Bodin’s] necklace and he knows how to use it,” the dad says.
“We will build lighthouses, especially in valleys and very visible areas when lit up at night,” he continues.”There will be playgrounds and lots of fun noise-making things. This will be a community effort for the children.”
Corey adds that whistles will be provided at the lighthouses, saying, “We’re working on making ones in honor of this miracle, and the proceeds will go towards the lighthouse initiative.”
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