K-9 Piper rescues lost little boy using his scent in Maricopa County

K-9 Piper finds missing boy in Arizona desert

A young boy who went missing June 22 near 299th Avenue and McDowell Road in Buckeye was found within three hours thanks to Maricopa County Sheriff's Office K-9 Piper, a bloodhound, who tracked the child's scent. FOX 10's Lindsey Ragas has more.

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - A Maricopa County Sheriff's K-9 tracked down a little boy in the desert about three hours after the child wandered off with his dog.

The reunion was all caught on camera.

The backstory:

K-9 Piper is the reason the little boy has been found and is back with his family. It, of course, was an emotional reunion for five-year-old Zayden and his parents.

On June 22, Zayden was found in the desert with his dog, Marcy.

Maricopa County deputies say the boy, who's autistic and non-verbal, chased after his dog that night and was seen running toward Tonopah Salome Highway from the area of 299th Avenue and McDowell Road in Buckeye.

Dig deeper:

All a bloodhound named Piper needed to find the boy was his scent.

"The mom actually had a pair of socks that were in her purse that he was wearing earlier that day, and then as well as his car seat. So with that, I take the socks and the car seat, put them in a little bag with some gauze, and then that gauze will absorb the boy's scent," said Maricopa County Sheriff's Deputy Stephen Lopez.

Maricopa County Sheriff's Deputy Stephen Lopez

This is what Piper is trained to do. Track one specific scent.

"So this track in particular was about two miles, so she tracked for about 45 minutes," Deputy Lopez said. "From the time the call got kicked out to the time that we located him was right around three hours."

Zayden was found safe. He was quickly back in the hands of his mom thanks to the swift action of MCSO and K-9 Piper.

The sheriff's office says it's difficult to track in Arizona because of the heat. The scent burns off faster, which means less time for the dogs to track.