By Peter Sblendorio
New York Daily News
DEKALB COUNTY, Tenn. — A 6-year-old girl who went missing last month has been found by Tennessee authorities thanks to a bloodhound that helped locate her, according to authorities.
The child’s father, Nicholas Reeder, was accused of abducting the girl, Kinzleigh, on May 26, prompting the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department to launch a search for the duo, officials said Monday.
K9 Deputy Richard Tidwell of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office and his bloodhound partner, Fred, were instrumental in finding the girl and her father last Friday, authorities said.
“Tidwell obtained an item belonging to the father and allowed Fred to smell it,” reads Monday’s announcement by the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.
“They traveled to the home and released Fred who followed a foot path from the home to a burn pile, a truck and an outbuilding. He sniffed the door and door knob, then sat down indicating he found the father.”
The outbuilding was “reinforced” from the inside, officials said.
“We made entry into the building and discovered the suspect and child in the back of the shed behind blankets that were hanging from a makeshift clothesline,” Sheriff’s Sgt. James Holloway said in a statement.
Authorities charged Reeder with child abuse or neglect of his daughter.
Kinzleigh shared an endearing moment with the bloodhound after she was safely located, the sheriff’s office said.
“He licked her face and she gave him a big hug,” Tidwell recalled in a statement.
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