It's every parents' nightmare. One second their two-year old is playing barefoot in the yard, the next they're gone.
Thea Chase disappeared around 8 p.m. last Wednesday in a heavily-wooded area of Michigan's Upper Peninsula outside the town of Faithorn.
The desperate family searched for the little girl for 20 minutes before calling the police.
Michigan State Police Lt. Mark Giannunzio said,
When we get a call like that, everything else stops.
The state police put out a call for drone support, canine search and rescue, and members of the community formed search teams.
Then around midnight, a family friend on an ATV came across the family's Rottweiler, Buddy, who began to bark when he saw the man.
Just like a real-life Lassie, the good doggo led the man to the little girl who was fast asleep on top of the family's other dog, an Irish Springer named Hartley.
Hartley was far less trusting than Buddy and growled as the man approached to wake the toddler.
Eventually the man negotiated with the dogs and loaded Thea on his ATV, returning her to her parents.
Brooke Chase, the little girl's mom, said that when Thea got home she was giggling and saying "Hi, Mommy" as if nothing had happened. I'm sure Buddy and Hartley got a lot of love too.
"She has those dogs wrapped around her finger," Chase said.
Let's hope that never changes.
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