Thanks to the efforts of a Wisconsin dad and his dog, a young boy with autism who went missing last week has been found and reunited with his family, KARE 11 News reports.
Five-year-old Scotty Meyer was reported missing after he slipped out of his Pierce County house without his family's knowledge. Scotty has autism and does not speak.
According to the Star Tribune, Scotty's frantic parents soon appeared on local television, pleading for help in finding their son. Within hours, hundreds of volunteers had come forward to lend a hand in the search.
Jason Moser was one of them.
Moser told CBS Minnesota that his fatherly instincts had inspired him to join the search.
“We have a four-and-a-half year old, and we can’t imagine losing him,” said Moser.
With his 8-year-old Golden Retriever Autumn leading the way, Moser searched a wooded area by the Mississippi River, about a half mile away from Scotty's home.
Sheriff Nancy Hove told CBS Minnesota that several search teams had already combed the area for signs of the child but had found nothing.
Incredibly, 20 hours into the search, it was Moser and his untrained house dog Autumn who found Scotty -- near a tree on a steep slope, wearing nothing but a pull-on diaper.
According to KARE 11 News, Scotty was dehydrated, sunburned and covered with mosquito bites when he was found, but is otherwise in good health.
Rose Poss, Scotty’s aunt, said that her family is immensely grateful to the Mosers and the hundreds of volunteers who helped in the search.
“The outpouring of people was incredible,” she told CBS Minnesota. “And Jason and Melissa Moser and their dog Autumn, we love them. They are wonderful.”
Note: There is a discrepancy among our sources as to the 5-year-old's first name. While CBS Minnesota and KARE 11 News have referred to the boy as 'Scotty,' the Star Tribune has used the name 'Scott.'