The parents of a 2-year-old boy who spent a night alone in the Arizona wilderness and was led to safety by a local rancher’s dog are calling the ordeal “a miracle.”
Bowden Allen disappeared from his home in Seligman, Arizona, at around 5 p.m. on Monday. The toddler’s father, Cory Allen, was working on the home’s roof, while his mother, Sarah Allen, was caring for their one-year-old, NBC affiliate KPNX-TV reported.
Sarah said she heard her older child walk out of the home, but when she called for him, he didn’t answer, triggering a panicked search.
“It started — getting more intense every minute,” Cory said about the search for his son.
The couple called in family for help, and eventually contacted the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, kicking off a search effort comprising more than 40 rescuers and a Department of Public Safety helicopter that spotted two mountain lions in the area.
But as the sun set, there was still no sign of Bowden.
“I didn’t even know how to process,” Sarah said. “I looked at his empty bed in the middle of the night, and I’m like this isn’t real, he’s not — how is he not here? How is he out by himself somewhere in the dark?”
Around 16 hours later, rancher Scotty Dunton said he found Bowden on his land after his dog, Buford, led him there. Dunton’s property is 7 miles away from the toddler’s home.
According to Dunton, Buford, an Anatolian Pyrenees, found Bowden sleeping under a tree, KPNX-TV reported. The toddler was found with a few scratches on his arm.
“I feel like God sent that dog to rescue my son,” Cory told the outlet about Buford.
Sarah called the ordeal “a miracle.”
“It’s unreal and it’s unbelievable,” she said.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
