When 6-year-old Kaydon Leach disappeared from his home the evening of April 23 from his Blount County, Tennessee home, hundreds of people began searching for him around 7 p.m. that night. They were worried that with the cold and rain set to come in that night that they’d never find Kaydon in time.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued an Endangered Missing Child Alert for the child and 100 first responders answered the call and began conducting grid searches through a 2,000 acre area. They searched overnight in the rain and well into the next day.

After a 22 hour search by the TBI, KBI, Blount County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, a Black Hawk military helicopter, and numbers of volunteers, Kaydon was finally found a half mile away from his home in Blount County at the Top of the World Community around 3:30 p.m. on April 24th.

What the search parties found was nothing short of miraculous. Above all the heroes that searched for Kaydon, it was one who stood out above the rest. Chula, a little black and white terrier, had disappeared with Kaydon and had managed to keep Kaydon safe while he was missing.

When officials found Kaydon, he was curled up with Chula who even guarded his master from the people that had come to rescue him. When someone reached out to Kaydon, the little dog gave a worried look and growled at the help being offered.

Once the little protector was assured that they were there to help and not hurt Kaydon, he allowed them to approach and help his little human. Kaydon was cold so rescuers wrapped him in warm jackets and he was taken to Blount Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Kaydon’s parents released a statement that Kaydon was going to fine, as was his protector Chula. They thanked everyone for the hard work they did searching for their son and requested privacy during the difficult time.