K9 Brings Lost Boy Back Home

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — St. Paul police credit a K-9 partner with reuniting a lost 3-year-old with his family.

The boy in red pajamas had wandered away from his home in the South Como neighborhood Monday. Passers-by called police and Officer Patrick Murphy responded. The child didn't know where his home was and began to cry.

Murphy thought his K-9 partner, Sarik, could help. The dog had followed scent trails in the past to apprehend suspects and find missing people — but, this time Sarik would have to trace a scent backward. The dog was able to trace the boy's scent back to his home.

Murphy tells the Star Tribune that if not for Sarik, police would have had to wait for a missing person's report or would have had to knock on every door in the neighborhood.