Hero Military Search Dog Who Saved Missing Children in the Amazon Is Now Missing Himself
In May, a small plane carrying seven passengers crashed in Columbia. Four children--aged 13, 9, 4, and 1--survived the plane crash and 40 days stranded in the rainforest. They were located by the Columbian military on June 9, though a few helping paws had come to the children's aid much earlier.
Wilson, a Belgian Shepherd search dog working with the military, separated himself from the search party on May 18. He found his way to the missing siblings and spent several days with them before disappearing himself.
Wilson is a hero! Not only did he do his job by locating the children, but he also helped rescuers get closer to them too. After Wilson followed scents from the kids' clothing to the kids themselves, rescuers found his paw prints next to their footprints. This helped them narrow down their search and ultimately find the siblings.
But when the siblings were found, the 2-year-old military dog was nowhere to be seen. The children confirmed that he was with them for several days in the rainforest--and the oldest sibling, Lesly Mucutuy, even drew a picture of the rainforest that included Wilson's black and brown likeness.
Still, no one is certain just what happened to the hero dog. He parted ways with the children before any people found them, though many still hope he will be safe and sound. The Columbian military has dispatched 70 soldiers to look for the pup, and they've also set down stations of dog food, water, and clothes from Wilson's handler to help him find his way back to the crash site or the search party. Most recently, the team brought in 2 female dogs in heat in the hope that he'll detect their scent and follow it to safety.
You can count us among the masses who hope Wilson will be found soon and that he hasn't endured too much in the rainforest. Whatever the outcome of this search may be, we have no doubt that this brave dog's heroism will go down in history.
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