Seligman (USA) - A two-year-old went missing in the US state of Arizona at the beginning of the week, but a four-legged hero found him and brought him safely into protective hands.

According to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office , two-year-old Boden Allen had been missing since Monday.

According to ABC News, his mother had only taken her eyes off him for a brief moment around 5 p.m. when she was changing his sibling's diaper. But it was precisely at this moment that the little boy disappeared without a trace.

A large-scale search operation involving over 40 emergency services began. There was no trace of the two-year-old for more than 16 hours.

What was particularly worrying was that two mountain lions had been spotted in the area shortly beforehand.

But on Tuesday morning, there was great relief: Boden was found alive - thanks to a four-legged hero.

Rancher dog "Buford" discovered the boy around eleven kilometers from his parents' house while searching his owner's property for coyotes. The Pyrenean mountain dog instinctively led the little runaway to his master, who immediately alerted the authorities.

Shortly afterwards, Boden was welcomed back into the arms of his overjoyed family - and Buford was rewarded for his efforts with a large steak.