Missing 3-Year Old Found Safe With His Dog Protecting Him

A 3-year old North Dakota boy who was missing for six hours Monday night was found safe after an hours long search with his dog laying on top of him.

Carson Urness went missing about 7:30 p.m. Monday night from his yard near Cooperstown, ND.

Griggs county sheriff Robert Hook said the boys parents Brock and Courtney Urness called 911 about 8:30 p.m. to report their son and their dog, Cooper were missing from their farm reported the Duluth News Tribune.

Courtney Urness told WDAY-TV that she hoped her son was with Cooper – who the family rescued after he had been left alongside a road as a puppy – after he didn’t come in from playing outside.

“You think of the worst, but then I knew Cooper was gone. If anyone was going to find him, they’d just have to find Cooper,” she said.

Carson was found safe about a mile away from their home around 2:00 a.m. Tuesday, according to a report in the Bismarck Tribune.

Hook said the boy was lying down with the dog on top of him, shielding him from the rain and cold.

Carson later told his mom, “Mom, I was really scared but Cooper laid on me. He kept me warm.”

Volunteers joined authorities on foot, ATV and horseback in searching for the boy. The search team consisted of nearly 200 people.

Police had just decided to send the foot searchers home when someone on an ATV discovered Carson and Cooper.

“Somebody came an knocked on the door and said, ‘We found them,’ and I just ran to the Ambulance,” Courtney Urness said.

As Carson rode back to the family home on the ATV, Cooper followed closely behind. Carson was taken to a local hospital, but appears to be in good shape.

Brock Urness told ABC News he was grateful for everyone who helped look for the boy.

“We’re thankful for the police and local fire department here and all the people with horses and four-wheelers and the walkers,” he said. “We’re very grateful that they all came and looked and helped us.”

A firefighter, only identified as “Pat” came over a hill found Carson and Cooper after spotting them with a flashlight.

The search covered over 2,000 acres of North Dakota farmland.

Brock said “That four-wheeler found him in the middle of one of our fields by a pasture. Carson was in tall grass but when they shone lights down to sweep it, the dog stuck his head out.”

{Image via nydailynews.com]