VICTORIA BENSCH - 3 yo - Yavapai Co. AZ

PRESCOTT, Ariz. - A family dog is credited with keeping a little girl safe after she spent the overnight hours Friday in 30-degree temperatures near

Cordes Lakes, 36 miles east of Prescott.

Yavapai County Sheriff's Office spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn credits the dog, a Queensland Heeler, with 3-year-old Victoria Bensch's survival.

A Department of Public Safety helicopter crew saw movement and found the little girl and her dog just before 9 a.m. Friday, three-quarters of a mile from her home.

D'Evelyn said the DPS crew landed and then flew the child back to be reunited her mother and father.

The child was then flown to Phoenix Children's Hospital, where she will be treated for frostbite.

Authorities said the little girl was outside playing early Thursday evening when she disappeared along with her dog.

[quote="cindmo"]PRESCOTT, Ariz. - A family dog is credited with keeping a little girl safe after she spent the overnight hours Friday in 30-degree temperatures near Cordes Lakes, 36 miles east of Prescott.

Yavapai County Sheriff's Office spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn credits the dog, a Queensland Heeler, with 3-year-old Victoria Bensch's survival.

A Department of Public Safety helicopter crew saw movement and found the little girl and her dog just before 9 a.m. Friday, three-quarters of a mile from her home.

D'Evelyn said the DPS crew landed and then flew the child back to be reunited her mother and father.

The child was then flown to Phoenix Children's Hospital, where she will be treated for frostbite.

Authorities said the little girl was outside playing early Thursday evening when she disappeared along with her dog.
[/quote]

I'm so happy her dog stayed by her side and kept her alive and safe...

CORDES LAKES -- Searchers found a 3-year-old Cordes Lakes girl who
had been missing for more than 16 hours safe Friday morning, about an
hour into their daylight operation.
According to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, the DPS helicopter
spotted Victoria Bensch with her dog, Blue, shortly after 8:30 a.m.
"She was able to stay warm with the dog," said Sgt. Jeff Newnum. "It's probably one of the things that saved her life."
The overnight temperature in the area was in the low 30s.
"God's watching over her," Newnum said. "I just believe that. It's the resolution we were all praying for."
Searchers had been looking for the toddler, who apparently wandered
away from her home with her dog, all night long. While volunteers were
fanned out on the ground and deputies were searching every vehicle
leaving Cordes Junction, the helicopter didn't launch Friday until the
sun came up.
Newnum said searching in the daylight made all the difference.
"We could have been very close to her last night and never spotted her," Newnum said.
Victoria was reunited with her mother and then flown to Phoenix
Children's Hospital for evaluation. Medics on the scene were concerned
the toddler, who was wearing only a T-shirt and pants, might have
suffered some frostbite.
According to investigators, Victoria's parents last saw her on the
porch with her dog at about 5 p.m. yesterday. Victoria and her mother
had just returned from a walk. The mother went inside for a couple of
minutes, leaving Victoria and Blue to play either in the yard or on the
porch. Then they disappeared.
"It was like she vanished, her and her dog," said Tracy Rutledge,
Victoria's aunt, early Friday morning. "She's been out there with her
dog. Hopefully he's kept her warm."
Investigators were hopeful all along that Victoria, who's described
as an adventurous child, had simply wandered off. The girl's family
said the dog, a Queens Heeler, would have barked if anybody had
approached Victoria, but nobody saw or heard anything unusual or
suspicious before she disappeared.
According to YSCO spokesman Dwight D’Evelyn, the family spent about
an hour searching for Victoria before contacting authorities. While
crews only had about 30 minutes of daylight to search the rugged area
for the little girl, deputies launched another prong of the operation.
"We visited every registered sex offender in this community," Newnum
said. "With their consent, we were able to do a search of every single
sex offender's home. They were very cooperative and we were able to
rule them out really quickly."
Victoria and Blue were finally found lying under a shrub about 3/4
of a mile from the Bensch home, an area she and her family know well.
Victoria's father, Ernest Bensch, said his wife called him to tell him Victoria had been found.
"Everything was going through my mind," he said, describing the long
night when his little daughter was out in the cold. "I'd really love to
thank them [the rescue crews] all in person."