Police dog finds missing mum and baby during his first day on the job

A police dog in Wales found a missing mother and toddler on his first shift on the job.

The two-year-old German Shepherd, Max, joined the force in February with handler PC Peter Lloyd, and has absolutely smashed his first job!

The duo found the mother and one-year-old child, who had not been seen for two days, on the edge of a ravine in a remote part of Powys on Saturday.

They spotted the woman waving for help at around 1:30pm. The woman and child were helped down, before being checked by a mountain rescue doctor and the ambulance service.

Inspector Jonathan Rees-Jones said: “The woman had not been seen or spoken to for two days, which was out of character, and her phone wasn’t working, so naturally concern for her safety was high.

“Despite only recently becoming licensed, and on his first operational shift, he immediately commenced an open area search.”

The woman’s car was found on the mountain road, giving officers a location to start from – albeit ‘a vast area to cover given the amount of time she had been missing’.

The search was an hour and a half and involved the Brecon Mountain Rescue Team, a National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter and a search expert. 

Rees-Jones said: “They were safe, but cold, and appeared to have been in the area for a significant amount of time.

“I must give a special mention to PC Pete Lloyd and Max, who on their very first day since completing their training together covered a significant amount of mileage in the search, eventually locating them safe.”

PC Lloyd said he was ‘really pleased’, adding: “Max remained focussed throughout the long search and he proved invaluable.”

Well done Max and PC Lloyd!!