Lost 3-Year-Old SD Boy Was Protected By Dog

Authorities say a 3-year-old boy's dog protected him when the toddler wandered away from his western South Dakota home and became lost in the woods.

Custer County Sheriff Rick Wheeler says that the boy was missing for about an hour Monday before police found him unharmed about a quarter mile from his Custer home. Wheeler says the protective dog wouldn't let rescuers near the boy, so the boy's father had to first take the dog home.

Authorities tracked the boy and the dog by following footprints in the snow. Wheeler says the boy had no obvious injuries but was taken to a hospital as a precaution. The boy wasn't identified.