K-9 tracks down endangered child being held at knifepoint

GASTONIA, N.C. — A K-9 unit from the Gastonia Police Department traveled 7 miles to locate a missing child, likely saving his life, on Mother’s Day in West Gastonia.

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A mother working through mental health issues tried to attack a child with a butcher knife then got another knife and forced her 7-year-old to leave home with her.

Sgt. David Rowland, who heads the Gastonia K-9 unit, got the call.

“Very, very concerned and fearful of the child’s life at that point,” Rowland told Channel 9.

He jumped out with Bo, an eighth-generation search dog.

They caught a scent off the mother and son’s clothes and started tracking.

They were on Franklin Boulevard when Bo locked onto a scent.

“We were getting multiple phone calls from neighbors that were spotting the female with the child being dragged through their backyards,” Rowland said.

Police officers had to leave for other calls, and the batteries in the police drone wore out.

However, Bo kept going.

“He goes nose up and goes through a chain-link fence into an abandoned house,” Rowland said.

They found the mother and son in an outbuilding, not far from where the search began.

“Bo is a non-apprehension dog. He’s just there for loving. And the child is crying, and Bo just went over and licked his face and put a smile on the kid’s face at the time,” Rowland said.