Bloodhound Helps Find Missing 6-Year-Old Girl

Kinzleigh Reeder was in barricaded outbuilding on father's Tennessee property
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 29, 2021 4:55 PM CDT
Bloodhound Helps Find Missing 6-Year-Old Girl
K9 handler Richard Tidwell poses with Fred the bloodhound.   (Rutherford County Sheriff's Office)

A missing 6-year-old girl in Tennessee has been found and taken to safety—and Fred the bloodhound has been given some extra treats. The dog helped the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office locate Kinzleigh Reeder, who was allegedly abducted by father Nicholas Reeder last month, WSMV reports. The sheriff's office—which described the girl as "missing and endangered"—says Fred and his handler were called in to help after "hundreds of manpower hours" went into the search for Kinzleigh, which also involved drones. A scent led the bloodhound to a barricaded outbuilding on Reeder's property. After forcing entry, deputies found the girl and her father inside.

"The door to the outbuilding was barricaded, and the windows had been covered up with metal. There was no ventilation and air conditioning inside the small outbuilding," Sheriff Patrick Ray said, per WKRN. "There was barely any food or water for the child" and there was a "strong ammonia smell" where a bucket had been used as a toilet, the sheriff said. Reeder, who already had warrants for failure to appear and custodial interference, was arrested on a charge of child abuse or neglect. Richard TIdwell, Fred's handler, says Kinzleigh asked to meet the dog that helped rescue her. "He licked her face and she gave him a big hug," Tidwell says in a Facebook post. He says Fred was given some pizza crusts as well as chicken treats, his usual reward for a successful find. (More Tennessee stories.)

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