Chaffee County K9 helps find three kids who wandered away from camp near Midland Bike Trail

CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) says a K9 officer helped rescue three kids who had wandered away during a family hiking trip over the weekend.

According to CCSO, deputies were sent to the Midland Bike Trail east of Buena Vista around 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26. Deputies arrived and met with family members who reported three lost kids. CCSO says the family, who was camping in the area, had noticed three children, one 9-year-old and two 6-year-olds, missing a few hours earlier. They had attempted to search for the kids themselves and couldn't find them, so they called law enforcement, CCSO says.

CCSO says Chaffee County Search and Rescue joined in the search, which also included several drones, a helicopter and several foot patrols. CCSO's canine deputy Archie "Arch" was also sent to search for the kids.

Arch was able to pick up a scent from camp and start to lead teams into the wilderness to find the kids, according to officials. Search and Rescue teams were able to work higher up than Arch based on where he was heading and found the kids from a higher locations, CCSO says.

According to CCSO, the kids had traveled around a mile and a half from their camp, and were found uninjured around 2 p.m.

“The teams worked amazingly quick and effective to bring these kids back to their worried families. I can only imagine the panic they must have felt. We are so fortunate in Chaffee County to have such a highly trained and dedicated search and rescue team of volunteers for these terrifying moments. Now adding our buddy Arch to the team, as a tool, I would match this team against any other in the state. I am very proud of them all," Sheriff Andy Rohrich said in a press release.

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