Missing Bergen County Child Found By Police Dog: PD

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — When a child was reported missing in Upper Saddle River after dark last week, a police dog sprang to the rescue.

Around 8 p.m. on Thursday, police in that town reached out to a nearby department, Maywood, which has a trained K9 unit to help with rescues.

The missing child already had been gone for nearly four hours, the Maywood police said on Friday.

Sgt. Chris Nichols and three-year-old bloodhound Phoenyx responded.

Around 9:20 p.m., the Upper Saddle River police posted on social media to let residents know the police helicopter would be hovering to help find a missing person. But ultimately, it was Phoenyx who found the child.

"Using a piece of clothing, K-9 Phoenyx acquired the juvenile's scent and led a team of officers a half mile, where she located the missing subject in a residential area," said the Maywood police in a message on Friday.

The child was reunited with family, said police. Police declined to give more details about the child.

Following In Remi's Paw-Steps

Phoenyx has been following in the paw-steps of her aunt, a longtime police dog named Remi.

In 2020, Remi tracked down a man charged with killing his roommate in Jersey City. Remi followed the killer's scent for two miles to a Hudson County motel.

Remi was honored for her work in a 2022 ceremony. But a few months later, she passed away from pancreatic cancer. READ MORE: Hero Dog Tracked Student's Killer 2 Miles To Hudson County Motel: Police

Her handler, Sgt. Chris Nichols, mourned Remi's passing on a Facebook page dedicated to his canine partner.

Later that year, Nichols had a new puppy to work with — Phoenyx. (See photo above.)

The Maywood police wrote on Friday, "We thank our law enforcement partners involved in the multi-agency collaboration."