Mo. K-9 Helps Find Seriously Injured Teen Missing for 4 Days in Ravine
A Farmington Correctional Center K-9 tracked down a 13-year-old boy who survived without food and water for four days after falling into a Goose Creek ravine and suffering a "traumatic leg injury.".
By Mike Stunson
Source The Kansas City Star
Aug. 4, 2025
2 min read
St. Francois County, MO, Sheriff's Office
Darrell, a Farmington Correctional Center K-9, tracked down a 13-year-old boy who survived without food and water for four days after falling into a Goose Creek, MO, ravine and suffering a "traumatic leg injury" in a skateboard accident.
What to know
A 13-year-old boy who fell into a ravine in Goose Creek following a skateboard accident was rescued when a Farmington Correctional Center K-9 located the teen.
The boy suffered a traumatic leg injury, and he survived four days without food or water.
The teen was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital for "emergency medical care," according to the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office.
A 13-year-old boy injured in a skateboard accident survived four days without food and water before being rescued, Missouri authorities say.
The boy from Goose Creek had last been seen July 27 riding a skateboard, but he was reported missing when he did not return home, according to the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office.
When his skateboard was found about a half-mile from his home on July 30, investigators called a K-9 unit for extra support, the sheriff said in a news release.
A Farmington Correctional Center K-9 named Darrell tracked down a “steep and heavily vegetated terrain,” where he found the missing boy “at the bottom of a ravine,” authorities said.
The boy had suffered a “traumatic leg injury,” the sheriff said, and he was discovered 240 feet below where his skateboard was found.
“(He) endured 96 hours of being exposed to the elements without food or water,” according to the sheriff. “Due to (the boy’s) current condition, he was airlifted by ... helicopter to a St. Louis area hospital for emergency medical care.”
Authorities are continuing to investigate but said the incident appears to be accidental.
Goose Creek is about a 60-mile drive south from St. Louis.
