2-year-old found safe, thanks to rancher’s dog, after spending 16 hours in Arizona wilderness

An Arizona toddler who had been missing for 16 hours was found safe by a rancher’s dog on Tuesday, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.

Boden Allen, 2, was first reported missing just before 5 p.m. on Monday, after he wandered off from his family’s home in Seligman, officials said.

The incident began after Boden was playing with his mother outside their home and followed her back inside when she went to change his sibling’s diaper, according to Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jeff Newnum. Boden returned outside to play and “just disappeared,” Newnum told ABC News.

“Within 10 minutes of her changing the diaper, having him right next to her, she looks down, he’s nowhere to be found inside,” he said.

Deputies, accompanied by over 40 search and rescue members, arrived on the property and scanned the area for Boden for about 16 hours, officials said. During their search, officials noted that they spotted two mountain lions “among the terrain the boy traveled.”

On Tuesday morning, rancher Scotty Dunton reported that “a young child had walked onto his property,” according to the sheriff’s office.

The rancher said his dog, Buford, spotted the boy while he was patrolling the property — which is approximately seven miles away from the Allen family home — for coyotes.