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Missing Child Found Alive Inside A Pile Of Snow By A Police Dog In Finland

December 27, 2023

Today's good news story comes from Korpilahti, Finland.

In a heartwarming turn of events on Christmas Eve, the Inner Finland Police Department successfully located a missing elementary school-age child with the help of their dedicated police dog, Kuha.

Kuha | Credit: Poliisikoirayhdistys

According to Finland's Police Dog Association, the child had gone missing on December 23, 2023, around 7:00 p.m., in Korpilahti. The steadily falling snow had covered the tracks, leading the family to seek assistance from the authorities. A situation organization was quickly established, including a dog patrol from Jyväskylä, which played a crucial role in the miraculous rescue.

The search initially focused on the city center, but the breakthrough came near the child's home. The dog patrol, led by Kuha, carefully inspected a snow pile where children had built snow caves. Despite the challenging conditions, Kuha's keen sense of smell and the persistence of the patrol paid off.

At around 12:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve, Kuha discovered a shoe sole buried under three feet of snow. The child, who had been trapped in a collapsed snow cave, was unresponsive initially but gradually recovered after receiving medical attention. The community breathed a collective sigh of relief as the child was able to speak in the ambulance.

The success of this rescue mission was attributed to the extensive training of police dog Kuha and the dedication of the dog patrol. The dog handler's knowledge that human scent rises in the snow led to a second search of the pile, ultimately leading to the child's discovery.

The Finnish Police Dog Association commended the dog patrol for their exceptional performance and celebrated Kuha's role in the successful rescue. The handler's hundreds of hours of training paid off, emphasizing the importance of well-trained police dogs in critical situations.