FENNIMORE, Wis. — Two good Samaritans are being credited with finding a missing baby late last week after a horse attached to a buggy the baby was riding in took off with the baby and buggy in tow.
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office said the baby’s mother had tied the horse and buggy to a pole at a home in the town of Hickory Grove Friday morning. The horse was able to get loose and took off.
Roughly an hour and a half after the sheriff’s office learned the baby was missing, Levi and Erica Oechsle found the child after joining in the search.
“I was plowing snow on our farm and she had heard it on the scanner that there was a buggy loose,” Levi Oechsle said. “We just figured we’d try to go chip in to see if we could help.”
The Oechsles found the baby still inside the buggy and wrapped in a blanket. First responders checked the baby out for any possible injuries before reuniting them with their mother.
“I was telling him I would feel like a hero if we ever did find it, you know, what are the chances? And when we came across it, we have a little one ourselves so it’s like your heart just drops when you know that there’s a baby involved,” Erica Oechsle said.
In a statement, Sheriff Nate Dreckman praised first responders, law enforcement officers, county highway department employees and the couple for helping to find the baby:
“This incident is a prime example of how people can come together quickly to address a situation. As soon as the call came in, our dispatchers began getting resources into the area where the horse and buggy were last seen. The Fennimore Fire Department came on the scene and between the Sheriff’s Office and their command staff, a command center was set up and roads were then searched systematically. In addition to law enforcement and several fire departments, the Grant County Highway Department was in the area and helped search.
“The people that showed up on the scene rapidly deployed to try and locate the horse and buggy. There was a sense of urgency as it was rather cold out and the child needed to be found. Because of the men and women that were willing to drop whatever they were doing and come and help, the horse, buggy, and child were all found safe and sound. To all those that showed up, we cannot thank them enough!”
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