HILLSBORO, Ohio (WKRC) — A Highland County family's dog went missing for 30 hours.
Lina Sexton said that she was dog-sitting her son Jeffrey's white Siberian husky, Kilo, on Wednesday afternoon.
“So, we put her out on the lead, and then I got a call from a neighbor that she got loose,” said Sexton. “I checked our security cameras, and the last time she was on the property was like at 2:48.”
Sexton said that she, her son, and some of their friends from the city searched for Kilo on Wednesday.
“Until you couldn't see no more to search. It got dark,” said Sexton.
Search efforts continued throughout the day on Thursday, with no trace of the Sexton's beloved husky.
“We just drove to all the little communities around here, we stopped by all the stores, and we went door to door to some houses,” said Sexton.
It wasn't until 8:30 p.m. on Thursday that the search went from the ground to the air. Zander Parshall is a volunteer firefighter and owner of Elite Deer Recovery. He said that Jeffrey called him on Thursday to see if he could help in the search for Kilo.
“This drone is equipped with a couple of things that make it optimal for finding lost pets. The first is a thermal camera,” said Parshall.
That helped pinpoint the lost dog's location, which was about 400 yards from their home in a wooded area.
“We have about 10 inches of snow on the ground, and I lit up something that looked to be white, and I had seen the collar,” said Parshall.
Parshall then showed Local 12 how the drone was able to find where Kilo was.
“Right there is Kilo, the thermal heat signature, and there's Jeffrey walking to her. At that point, we were on the phone with him; he had my handheld thermal camera,” Parshall said.
Jeffrey would be able to untangle Kilo's lead before they are eventually seen on the drone walking out of the woods together.
“Oh my God, I've never been more thankful for technology,” said Sexton.
The Sextons did find out that Kilo sustained some injuries in the time he was lost.
“Four broken ribs and a collapsed lung,” said Sexton. “The vet said she was hit by a car.”
They said that Kilo will spend the night at the Veterinarian Emergency Group in Oakley, with the hope she can return home on Saturday.
