Rancher’s Dog Finds Missing 2-Year-Old Boy in Arizona Desert

By Bethanie H

Published

04/17/2025

A two-year-old boy in Seligman, Arizona went missing, but a rancher’s dog found him nearly seven miles from home and then led him to safety. Local news reports that more than 40 search-and rescue professionals were out looking for the missing boy, who had wandered away from his home and got lost on Monday evening.

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After about 16 hours of searching, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office says a rancher reported the missing boy had wandered onto his property with his dog, Buford. Buford patrols the property overnight, and he’d come across the boy, who said he’d slept under a tree before the dog found him. When the rancher saw the boy with Buford, he recognized the missing child and called authorities while giving the boy food and water.

The boy traveled through rough desert terrain to get to the spot where Buford found him. The Sheriff’s Office said during the overnight search, the rescue helicopter spotted two mountain lions in the area through which the boy traveled.

See an interview with the rancher whose dog discovered the missing boy near his ranch in Seligman, Arizona here:

Here is the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office’s missing-person poster: