Watch footage of K9 Margo, a trooper and a Bel Air officer as they sprint through 8″ of snow and traverse rough terrain to find the teen.
BEL AIR, MD — A K9 bloodhound has been credited with helping find a missing 15-year-old boy with autism who left home during the winter snowstorm Sunday.
The teen left his home between 8 and 11 a.m. on Jan. 25 without family members knowing. Frantic, they called for help around 11:15 a.m. and Bel Air police officers immediately jumped into action.
“We got a call for a critically missing child, (a child with autism), that left his residence without his guardian knowing,” Bel Air Police Department Chief Charles Moore told WBAL. “This is right at the same time this snowstorm was happening, so there was a lot of concern for his welfare.”
Officers canvassed the area near where the teen lived along Glastonbury Way, followed footprints believed to be the teens that he left in the snow, spoke with witnesses and issued alerts, the police department stated.
“At the time of the report, weather conditions were severe. The area was experiencing an active snowstorm with snow-covered terrain and sub-freezing temperatures, creating an urgent a potentially life-threatening situation. Officers were especially concerned due to the proximity of nearby waterways and the dangerous winter conditions,” according to a police report.
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Moore told WBAL that he knew some children with autism gravitate toward water, which was a huge concern.
“There’s a stream through (where the teenager was), there’s a few ponds also. So, we had a lot of concern that he might be heading toward one of those locations,” he said.
Maryland State Police Trooper Bracken brought his bloodhound partner, K9 Margo, to help track the missing teen. She’s been credited with saving the teen’s life. Officers trudged through upwards of eight inches of snow, tripping over hidden obstacles as they searched for the boy. They can be seen in body cam footage swatting at limbs and branches, hustling through the snow weighed down with their gear and jumping over fallen limbs as they followed K9 Margo’s nose.
Then finally viewers can hear, “We got him.”
The officers chat with the missing teen and Bracken praises Margo. An officer hands the teen his coat and gloves after he admitted he was freezing. The teen warmed up in the police cruiser then was evaluated by EMTs and taken home.
Watch the police officer’s body cam footage as Bracken and Margo search for and find the missing teen.