Wyoming Deputy And Police Dog To Be Honored On Dr. Phil Show

Deputy Sheriff Derek Morrell and his K9 partner Jara will be honored on a special "heroes'' segment of the Dr. Phil TV show for their rescue of a missing Rock Springs boy in July of 2019.

That's according to a post on the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.

The incident began when the four-year-old boy's mother reported him missing from the family's front yard. The situation was made even more serious by the fact that the boy could not speak well due to some developmental delays.

Rock Springs Police officers and Sweetwater County Sheriff's deputies began canvassing the neighborhood in cars and on foot looking for the missing child. Morrell and Jara soon arrived to join the search.

Using an article of the boy's clothing, Jara soon picked up on the boy's scent. The police dog was insistent on going down an alley several blocks away, dragging Deputy Morrell to a locked car. Deputy Morrell looked inside the car and saw the boy curled up on the driver's floorboard.

The vehicle's owner was soon found to unlock the car, and the boy was rescued.

Investigators later determined the boy had found the car unlocked and gotten inside, where he accidentally locked himself in. The segment of the Dr. Phil show is slated to air this afternoon at 4 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time on NBC.