Here’s how the Channel 12 news in Phoenix began the story, Thursday night on the 10 o’clock news: “God sent that dog to rescue my son.” These words were spoken by the toddler’s father, Corey Allen, outside the family’s home on the west side of rural Seligman, Arizona. Corey Allen says he was working on the roof, Sarah Allen was inside with their youngest. And two-year-old Bodin Allen went outside to play.

But when Bodin Allen’s mom called for him, he didn’t answer. He wasn’t there. And after an hour of frantic searching beneath a darkening sky, the Allens called the Yavapai Sheriff’s Department and before long there were dozens of search-of-rescue volunteers and deputies searching the area. Helicopters with spotlights scoured the plateau, the pilots reporting two mountain lions prowling the territory. A rancher named Scotty Dunton discovered the blond-headed toddler, seven long miles away from home, deep into the backcountry to the west. The boy was coming up the driveway, along with Scotty Dunton's big ranch dog, Buford the Anatolian Pyrenees. This is EPISODE #141: THE VANISHING BOY with soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Written & hosted by Ken Layne.

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