Pennsylvania sate police were nearly ready to call off the search but the team’s four-legged member persisted, ultimately locating Matthew Raymond Smith unharmed, officials said.
A canine search team found a Cambria county man unharmed after Pennsylvania State Police issued a missing endangered person advisory early Sunday.
According to the state police, Matthew Raymond Smith, 31, had last been seen at 4:30 a.m.
Police stated Smith may be at “special risk of harm” or “confused.”
The Bedford County Wilderness Search Team arrived by 8:30 a.m. with their canines and in a matter of around four hours, found Smith.
Robert Imler, the CEO of Sunset Support Services, who manages Smith's home, told WJAC-TV that the state police were going to call off the search but the team’s four-legged member persisted. "One of the air-scent dogs followed their sector down to behind the house and he had doubled back and come back to the house, and [Smith] was hiding in very thick brush, where people could not find him,” Thompson said.
The dog who found Smith, Loki, is a nine-year-old black lab, who celebrates his accomplishments by playing ball, and even played with Smith.
"I started taking him to search and rescue trainings when he was about 10 to 12 weeks old. So, he's been doing this for as long as he's been alive, pretty much. And he loves it," Alysha Norris, the BCWST's canine handler, told WJAC.
The canine strike team and Imler said that Smith occasionally hides away.
