AUSTRALIA FLOODS: GIRL, 3, AND DOG MISSING FOR 24 HOURS FOUND 3KM FROM HOME
Source: BBC News (Extract)
Posted: Jan 16, 2020
A three-year-old girl and her pet dog have been found safe and well 24 hours after they went missing in Western Australia’s flood-hit Pilbara region.
The girl was lost on Wednesday after wandering off from her home on Noreena Downs Homestead, around 70km from Nullagine.
She and her Jack Russell became trapped after heavy rain flooded creeks surrounding her home, police said.
A search involving helicopters was launched as concerns for the girl grew.
But on Thursday afternoon, she was spotted from a helicopter around 3.5km (2.1 miles) from her home.
When the authorities picked up the girl, she was caked in mud but otherwise fine. Her dog was by her side, still protecting her, police said.
“Happily, Matilda and her dog have now been returned to her family,” Western Australia Police Force said in a statement posted to Facebook.
Kim Massam, Pilbara’s police superintendent, praised those involved in the search, and the girl’s dog, who “stayed with her that whole time”.