A Massachusetts police K9 followed her nose to help find a 12-year-old who went missing in frigid temperatures last week, tracking the child’s scent for over two miles, authorities said.
K9 Biza, a female German shepherd, was called on to help after officers learned the child left their home at around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and was last seen in the Pakachoag Hill area of Auburn, the Auburn Police Department said.
The child had left the home without a cellphone or their mother’s permission, the Worcester Telegram and Gazette reported.
Due to the freezing temperatures, police said that officers, detectives and Massachusetts State Police troopers converged on the area to locate the wandering child.
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K9 Biza and her handler, Auburn Police Officer David Ljunggren, were deployed, and the dog eventually picked up a scent.
Biza tracked the scent for over two miles and led officers to an area where they found evidence that the missing youth had passed by a short time earlier. Additional officers converged on the area and found the child a short time later.
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The child was safe and reunited with their family.
"Biza is a good dog," Deputy Chief Richard Mills told the newspaper.
Biza joined the police department in 2022. The dog has her own Instagram account and was selected as "Miss December" in the Massachusetts Vest-A-Dog 2024 calendar.
