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Missing teenage girl with autism found by 119 rescue dog in Sacheon forest

Published: 16 Sep. 2025, 10:13

Rescue dog Turi [GYEONGSANGNAM-DO FIRE DEPARTMENT]

A 119 rescue dog found a teenager with autism who had gone missing in a forested area in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang.

According to the Gyeongsangnam-do Fire Department on Monday, the teenage girl went missing last Friday in a wooded area near Jeongsu Temple in Yonghyeon-myeon, Sacheon.

Sacheon Fire Station, police and other related agencies launched a joint search after receiving a missing persons report at 11:05 a.m. that day. However, the search was hindered by thick underbrush and narrow mountain paths.

At 1:30 p.m., the department deployed Turi, a rescue dog from the 119 Special Response Unit, to the site.

Following faint scents, Turi continued searching and located the missing girl at around 3:30 p.m., roughly two hours later. The girl was found sitting exhausted in the forest with her shoes off.

Turi, an 8-year-old male German shepherd, had previously located a missing elderly person suffering from dementia in just one hour during a search in Sancheong County last November.

“Turi’s fast and accurate tracking ability was key to this rescue despite the challenging terrain and time constraints,” a fire department official said. “We will continue working to ensure that 119 rescue dogs can remain on the front lines of protecting lives across the province.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]