Trust Your Instincts
PSD Jynx and Cst. Berube of the Halifax Regional Police Service - Photo credit CBC Nova Scotia
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In April, Cst. Berube & PSD Jynx of the Halifax Police Service were called to every parent’s worst nightmare;
A 3 year old girl had gone missing, wandering away from her home into the unforgiving Canadian wilderness.
A search party was well underway, but there were no indications of which direction the girl had went. Where do you start? Where do you look? Time was ticking and darkness was just around the corner.
One search and rescue principle that is often taught is that lost children tend to move downhill. Having said this, the child’s mother was adamant that her daughter likely headed uphill instead because she loved climbing.
“So I went with mom’s gut. I have children of my own and I know my children best, and I figured mom knows her daughter best as well,” said Cst. Berube.
So they started to climb.
Jynx put his head down and went to work; however, every time he seemed to pick up a scent, he kept leading them right back to the house. Cst. Berube believed that Jynx was picking up the other search party members, so they cleared the entire hill top of everyone.
PSD Jynx - Photo credit CBC Nova Scotia
And then Jynx found it; another scent trail leading them directly into the heart of the woods.
Cst. Berube followed behind, thrashing through the heavily wooded forest. For a fleeting moment, he even questioned Jynx…how could anyone, let alone a small child, possibly make it through all the vegetation? As they continued to move, Cst. Berube heard a faint “hello?” in the distance.
Were they close? They stormed through the woods with even more determination.
And then...a sigh of relief.
“She was in the middle of absolutely nowhere, a whole bunch of pine brush around her. She was just standing there...her curly hair was starting to stretch out because of the weight of the water in there. She had two mismatched boots but wasn’t crying or seemed fearful.”
The first thing she said to the duo?
“Doggy.”
Cst. Berube hugged the child, took off his jacket, and gave it to the rain soaked and shivering little girl as they made their way back home.
“I can’t imagine one of my children not being home for dinner, not home at night. I wasn’t going to let this one slide,” said Cst. Berube.
Although it may have been considered unconventional logic at the time, a mother’s intuition combined with the trust and skill of Cst. Berube and PSD Jynx led to a happy ending for all.
Trust your instincts.
Want to learn more about this story? Read the full in-depth article and see Cst. Barube’s incredible interview as originally reported by CBC Nova Scotia HERE.