A Florida police K-9 is being hailed a hero after helping to find a missing 3-year-old boy who wandered from his home on Friday, authorities said.
The child’s family reported him missing from their home around 11:30 a.m., and authorities immediately launched a team to find the toddler, the DeLand Police Department said.
Officers conducted a massive search for the missing boy, focusing on a wooded area behind the family’s home.
K-9 Midnight, who is trained to search for narcotics and missing people, and his handler Cpl. Damon Clark were called on to help locate the lost boy.
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Using the boy’s blanket, Midnight picked up the child’s scent and followed it into the wooded area, according to officials.
![DeLand Police K-9 Midnight](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/03/1200/675/k-9-midnight-solo.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Midnight and Clark followed the trail and found the boy in the woods. The child was unharmed and returned safely to his family, the department said.
![K-9 Midnight and Clark pose with the boy and his mom](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/03/1200/675/k-9-midnight-finds-missing-boy.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
“Good work to all teams involved!” police said in a statement. “This is the outcome we hope for in these situations, a safe return!”
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Midnight has served the DeLand Police Department since 2022. He joins the ranks of other law enforcement K-9s nationwide who have recently tracked down missing children and reunited them with family.
![DeLand Police K-9 Midnight](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/03/1200/675/k-9-midnight.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Last month, K-9 Ibiza in Auburn, Massachusetts, followed the scent of a missing 12-year-old boy for two miles to track him down in frigid temperatures.
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In January, K-9 Mary Lu of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida helped find a missing 11-year-old girl who was inside a locked park bathroom.
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