An RCMP constable and his helpful dog are being praised for locating a four-year-old girl who went missing in a southeastern Manitoba community on Sept. 11.
Rena Harthi slipped away, unnoticed by her babysitter, to chase her dog Max into the woods behind her home in the rural La Broquerie municipality on Sunday afternoon. Her mother, Elvira Harthi, told CTV Winnipeg that her daughter is an adventurous girl who just loves her dog.
“It was a nightmare,” she said. “It’s still a little shocking for me.”
The RCMP were called in to help locate the missing little girl after a quick search of the wooded area came to no avail. Steinbach RCMP canine unit member Const. Garfield Henderson and his dog, Enzo, were called to the area around 3 p.m.
“I cast my dog into that area and immediately located a track,” Henderson said. “Within 15 minutes, we located the young girl crying in the middle of the bush.”
The adventurous little girl was found one kilometre away from her home, about 45 minutes after she’d gone missing. She had managed to slip under two barbed wire fences along the way.
“Enzo came right up to her and she gave him a big pet on the head,” Henderson said. “Then she jumped into my arms and locked onto my neck and we walked out of the bush.”
Rena was a little wet and scared when she was found but otherwise unhurt. Her mother said she is just grateful to the RCMP for bringing her daughter back safe and sound.
“It was a blessing for me,” Elvira said.
The Steinbach RCMP applauded Henderson and Enzo for their “very fast and successful conclusion” to a dangerous situation.
“That’s what I’m here to do,” Henderson said. “That’s one of the best calls I’ve worked in my career as a dog handler.”
With a report from CTV Winnipeg’s Jon Hendricks
