A nightmarish scene so close to Halloween occurred this week when on Tuesday, a young boy and his dog were reported missing in Palmer Twp.

Social media lit up and news stations started rolling bits and pieces of a story of a six-year-old boy, Ethan Haus, who arrived home from the school bus, but then dashed off to play with the family dog (Remington) on the boy’s long walk up the driveway around 4 p.m.

News spread quickly and photos of the little boy in the clothes he was wearing began circulating on Facebook, KARE 11, KMSP 5 and internet forum pages.

More than 600 volunteers, numerous law enforcement agencies and a private drone operator are to credit for finding the Haus boy and his dog who were missing for 10 hours late Tuesday and early Wednesday near their home along Hwy. 25 and Co. Rd. 16, according to Sheriff Joel Brott. 

A drone operated by Steve Fines, of Fines Imaging, used heat-seeking technology to find Ethan and his dog at about 1:50 a.m. in a cornfield a little more than a mile to the east of his home. 

Ethan and his dog were lying down in the field when the drone spotted him. Ethan was cold but was otherwise in good health after being found, according to Brott. 

“There was a lot of hollering and shouting,” Fines said in describing the moment that Ethan Haus and his dog were found. 

“Everybody was pretty happy.”

Brott credits the massive community effort that brought hundreds of volunteers to the area to help search for Ethan. 

“This truly was the epitome of a community caring for its own,” Brott said. “To see the outpouring of support in such a short time period to come out and help find this boy and his dog is heartwarming.”

A few hours into the search, hundreds of people began swarming the location to help authorities track down the boy and his dog. Eventually, law enforcement had to send out a bulletin asking concerned parties to refrain from flocking to the site so the heat-seeking devices and canines could do their jobs without interruption.

Area churches (South Santiago Lutheran Church) and park pavillions opened their doors to people who arrived to search. They served coffee and hot chocolate and offered candles and prayer. Many bent their knees and folded their hands, asking higher powers to bring the child and dog home safely.

The church held a Service of Thanksgiving for Ethan Wednesday evening thanking God for the community, the public servants, and most of all, for bringing Ethan home safely!  This service was open to the entire community.

“We are thankful for the outpouring of support in the mission to find Ethan,” said Ethan’s mom, Sheri. 

“We are overwhelmed by the police, fire departments, rescue, food, water and hundreds of volunteers that gave up their night for Ethan. We appreciate everything you have done and can’t thank you enough!”

“I saw five helicopters”, Ethan told a reporter the day after. “Thank you for finding me, you make my heart full.” 

Agencies that deserve credit for their assistance include police and fire departments from Becker, Big Lake and Elk River, the Clear Lake Fire Dept, St. Cloud police, Minnesota State Patrol, FBI, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Stearns County, Gold Cross Ambulance, Red Cross and Clear Lake Lions.