Police dog helps find missing Northern Michigan girl several days after she didn't come home from school

MESICK (WWJ) — Thanks to the help of a Michigan State Police dog, a missing Northern Michigan girl has been found safe.

MSP officials with the Cadillac Post on Sunday asked for help from the community finding 15-year-old Isabella Fritch of Mesick, a small village about 30 miles south of Traverse City.

Her father told police the teen usually takes the bus home from school, but last Thursday she didn’t get on the bus or come home after leaving early, according to MSP.

Police received reports of people seeing the teen in the area, but she had run away from anyone trying to talk to her, MSP officials said Sunday.

On Monday MSP officials shared that a Wexford County Sheriff’s deputy spotted the 15-year-old on W 14 Road Monday morning. She went into the woods and an MSP K9 team was called to the area.

A trooper and his K9 partner, Ox, tracked the girl for about four miles through “thick terrain” and they eventually found her and took her back to the patrol car.

Officials shared body camera footage of Monday’s search, showing the trooper and dog running through the woods as they got close to the girl, who pet Ox as the trooper assured her “he’s friendly.”

Authorities did not release any other details surrounding the girl’s disappearance.

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