'Good Boy' Police Dog Treks Frigid Half-Mile in Thick Woods to Rescue Missing Man

The internet is praising a Michigan police K-9 and his officer for helping rescue a missing man in the freezing woods.

In a Facebook post written by Michigan Roscommon County Police, officer Dakota Darsow and their K-9, Ghost, responded to a call from the Gerrish Township Police Department at 8:45 pm on January 21. The duo went to help find a potential missing person who wandered the woods in frigid winter weather.

There are approximately 205,000 employed K-9 officers in the United States. Many police dogs aid officers in tracking down missing people or human remains thanks to their impressive sense of smell. Dogs have 250 million receptors in their nose, these receptors play a big part in how they chase scent. Humans, however, only have 5 million receptors. Some K-9 breeds include German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, and Bloodhounds.

In this case, police were made aware of the suspicious person via local residents who'd seen the man.

"The Officers believed they knew the identity of the subject and were concerned that he was likely cognitively impaired," they wrote in the post.

The missing person had been lost in the woods for many hours in freezing temperatures that settled around 11 degrees. Ghost sniffed for clues to help find the subject. After tracking him for half-a-mile through thick woods, Ghost spotted the man. When asked why he was out in the woods so late at night, the man said he'd gone for a walk and got lost.

The 58-year-old man was taken to the local hospital by EMS to treat any weather-related injuries.

"Excellent job by the Gerrish Township Police in recognizing the urgency of the situation, and another great job by Ghost. Good Boy!" they concluded the social media post.

Many positive comments flooded the post in praise of the hero dog and his partner.

"Great job, Officers!!! Who's the goodest boy?!" @Cheryl wrote.

"It's so nice to hear of a good outcome instead of a bad one, thank you for sharing and great job you two," @Chris shared his praise to the officers.

@Annabelle also chimed into the conversation, "You are irreplaceable, Ghost. You and the officers are lucky to have each other."

"Thank God for observant neighbors as well as the officers—human and K-9," @Barbara commented.

@Erin said, "Nice job guys! Glad Gerrish followed up yesterday to make sure he was okay!"

@Paula also shared her joyful thoughts, "This makes my heart happy. Great job!"

Newsweek reached out to the Gerrish Township Police for comment.