A two-year-old girl who wandered off from her home with her two family dogs has been found fast asleep in a remote woodland three miles away using one pet as ‘furry pillow’ while the other kept watch over her.
Thea, from the rural village of Faithorn in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, decided to go on an adventure on Wednesday when her mother Brooke had turned her back.
The toddler, along with her two dogs, walked three miles together through the wooded area before she got tired and decided to have a rest.
Back home, her panicked mother was frantically calling Thea and the dog’s names before her family and friends joined in the search of their family yard and the surrounding thick woods.
After 15 minutes with no luck, Brooke called troopers from Michigan State Police’s Iron Mountain post at 8pm on Wednesday and a manhunt was launched.
Troopers used drones and police dogs in the search while 50 local police and residents from both Michigan and adjacent Wisconsin helped look for Thea in the remote wooded area.
It was at midnight that a resident on an ATV found Thea sleeping about 3 miles from her home while using her smaller dog like a furry pillow while the larger dog kept watch over her, police said.
Thea, from the rural village of Faithorn in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, decided to go on an adventure on Wednesday when her mother Brooke had turned her back. Pictured: Thea with her father Alex and mother Brooke after she was found with her two dogs in wood
Brooke, who has previously shared pictures of Thea lying on their family Rottweiler Buddy at their home, said she is ‘still in such shock’ following the ordeal. It’s not clear if Thea had gone missing with Buddy
Lt Mark Giannunzio said on Thursday: She laid down and used one of the dogs as a pillow, and the other dog laid right next to her and kept her safe. It’s a really remarkable story.’
Brooke, who has previously shared pictures of Thea lying on their family Rottweiler Buddy at their home, said she is ‘still in such shock’ following the ordeal.
She wrote on Facebook: ‘It was the nightmare I never wanted to live through. I’m so glad my baby girl is safely home with us tonight. Her doggies kept her safe. I’m still in shock.’
Brooke, sitting next to her Alex while Thea sat on his knee with a bottle, told WJMN Local 3 that as soon as she noticed the toddler was missing, she ran to her uncle to ask if he’d seen her. A panicked search ensued, with the family frantically searching around the property.
She said: ‘We were searching all around the yard, up and down the road, screaming at the top of our lungs calling her name. We were calling for the dogs because they were missing too.
‘Everywhere around here is completely wooded, deep thick woods around here and there’s a swamp over there so of course we’re freaking out.’
Brooke added: ‘After 15 minutes of searching for her with our friends and family, I called the cops because at that point I’m just, I don’t know what else to do besides call the cops.’
Faithorn is an unincorporated village located just east of the Wisconsin state line and about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Marquette, Michigan
Thea is pictured here with her father Alex, who rushed home from home as soon as he heard the toddler was missing
She said that she called her husband Alex to tell him and he rushed home from work to join in the search.
‘I called Alex home from work, he beat the cops here. It just went from there. They had the drones, they had the dogs, it was hard for the dogs to search for her because we have farm animals over here.’
Brooke said that she was filled with utter relief when she was told that Thea had been found safe and well.
‘I am still in just shock. I was in shock that she was literally gone in like a split second.’
Giannunzio said Thea was checked by medical staff after she was found and appeared to be in good health.
Faithorn is an unincorporated village located just east of the Wisconsin state line and about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Marquette, Michigan.