Bloodhound Tracks Down Missing Boy In Florida [Video]

There are high-fives all around for the police bloodhound who found the missing boy in Florida. Vince Spears, a 9-year-old with Down Syndrome wandered too far while playing a game of hide and seek on Saturday, according to the Examiner.

Vince’s mother, Stephanie Spears, began to panic when she could not find her son who worked his way deep into a wooded area surrounding their home near State Road 46 and Lake Mary Boulevard, just east of Sanford, as reported by News Oxy.

“Just panic, because we know what’s back there in the woods. There’s a lot of water, there are snakes, there are all kinds of dangerous things that he has no concept of. He’s 9 years old, but because of the Down syndrome, cognitively he’s closer to maybe 3 years old. So, he doesn’t have any understanding of dangerous things like that, and he doesn’t have an understanding of the fact that he can walk somewhere and not be able to find his way back.”

Deputies in Seminole County, Florida received a call from Stephanie for help in finding her missing special needs son.

“Apparently he just walked straight back into the woods, into the trees … That really started to concern us,” Stephanie explains.

The Sheriff’s Office dispatched their helicopter and sent out newly trained bloodhound, Amber, to the rescue. Amber put her training too good use as she delved deeper and deeper into the dense woods.

The bloodhound tracked Vince after smelling the boy’s clothing and found the boy more than a mile-and-a-half deep into the woods, unharmed. Amber is now being praised for her good work in not only finding the boy, but according to Deputy John Locklin, Amber very likely saved the boy’s life.

A mere two years ago, Amber was just a small puppy with no name, but her name has gone viral across social media networks telling this wonderful story.

The Examiner reports The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement, “The child had been missing for approximately one hour. He was reunited with his family shortly after he was brought out of the woods. We are very thankful for Amber’s keen tracking skills that helped her locate this little boy and reunite him with this family.”

As everyone is singing Amber’s praises, Stephanie is overjoyed being reunited with her son, as per News Oxy.

“He said, ‘I got to go in the woods, and I got to ride a 4-wheeler.’ He didn’t understand how dangerous it was for him, that he was in danger. He was just kind of excited that he got to ride the 4-wheeler, and he saw the doggie and he got to see fire trucks. So, he was OK, thank goodness.”

Photo Credit: MyNews13.com,