Trinity Mount Ministries

Monday, July 5, 2021

Sheriff’s department K9 saves child, tracks missing girl to shed in Tennessee

 


You’ve just got to love man’s best friend. Law enforcement officials in DeKalb County, Tennessee report that a sheriff’s K9 located and helped rescue a 6-year-old girl who had been abducted by her father on May 26.

The child was found by a Rutherford County sheriff’s K9, Fred and his handler Deputy Richard Tidwell.

Fox Carolina said deputies tracked the suspect, Nicholas Reeder and his daughter, Kinzleigh to a home in DeKalb County. Reeder has been charged with child abuse or neglect in the case. He is currently being held on $175,000 bond.

According to DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray, Reeder was tracked to the area of the home, with the deputy and K9 called in where the pair was believed to be located behind a home.

Tidwell obtained an item belonging to Nicholas Reeder and the police bloodhound hit on it, following the scent along a footpath behind the home, finally tracking to an outbuilding.

Once the K9 sniffed the doorknob, he sat down, indicating this was where Reeder was likely to be with his daughter. Deputies made entry to the shed and located the young girl.

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,” Rutherford County Sheriff’s Sgt. James Holloway said.

Nicholas Reeder was taken into custody, and Kinzleigh was turned over to DeKalb County deputies.

“He licked her face, and she gave him a big hug,” Tidwell said of the interaction between the K9 and the young girl, according to a Facebook post from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.

Tidwell said that after the dog found the young girl, he gave him a special treat.

“I praised him and loved on him,” Tidwell said. “I pulled the chicken reward out of my pocket. He ate the chicken and wanted to meet other people as if to say, ‘Look what I’ve done.’”

Sheriff Ray was grateful for the assistance the agency received from various law enforcement partners.

He singled out the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, Rutherford County Fire & Rescue, StormPoint Drones, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad, DeKalb EMS, the FBI and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, who all participated in the search for young Kinzleigh.

Ray said the building where the pair was found was a small outbuilding with poor ventilation that “reeked of ammonia,” Ray said, according to WKRN. He noted that the building had been boarded with metal, and there was little food or water. He said they had been using a five-gallon bucket as a makeshift toilet.


The sheriff said Kinzleigh had been removed from her father’s custody on March 18 after they were found camped out under a bridge while a creek was rising in the area. He was arrested at that time on charges of child abuse and neglect, and the child was placed in temporary custody of a family member.

For some unknown reason, the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) allowed Reeder to live in the same household as his daughter.

Despite the fact the child went missing in late May, it wasn’t until nearly a month later, June 21 when DCS found the time to file a missing child report when they were granted custody of Kinzleigh.

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said this was Fred’s first recovery since he joined the department in 2020.



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