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Police Dog Finds Missing Mother And Baby On His First Ever Shift

August 7, 2020

A missing mother and baby were found on the edge of a ravine after spending the night outdoors thanks to a police dog on his first shift.

PC Peter Lloyd and PD Max

Newly licensed Dyfed-Powys Police dog Max, and his handler PC Peter Lloyd, were crucial in tracking down the woman who had spent a night in a remote location Wales with her young child.

The two-year-old German Shepherd mix was called into duty at just before noon on August 1, when the force received a call reporting the pair missing in Powys.

"The woman had not been seen or spoken to for two days, which was out of character, and her phone wasn't working, so naturally concern for her safety was high," Inspector Jonathan Rees-Jones said.

"Thanks to excellent work between teams, the woman's car was quickly found on a mountain road. Although this gave officers a location to search from, there was still a vast area to cover given the amount of time she had been missing.

This is where PD Max's tracking skills really came into play. Despite only recently becoming licensed, and on his first operational shift, he immediately commenced an open area search."

Less than two hours after joining the effort, Max guided PC Lloyd to the missing woman, who was waving for help near a steep ravine on the mountainside.

After being helped down, she and her baby were checked over by Mountain Rescue doctors.

"They were safe, but cold, and appeared to have been in the area for a significant amount of time," Inspector Rees-Jones said.

"I must give a special mention to PC Pete Lloyd and Max, who on their very first day since completing their training together covered a significant amount of mileage in the search, eventually locating them safe."

PC Lloyd joined the Dyfed-Powys Police dog section in February, and was on his first operational shift with Max when the woman was reported missing.

"I was really pleased that during our first operational deployment as a dog team, myself and Max were able to safely locate the missing mother and baby," Lloyd said. "Max remained focussed throughout the long search and he proved invaluable when he reacted to the call for help which resulted in us locating them."