Wilson became a “faithful friend” of the children. while they were waiting for rescuers in the Amazon. Credit: AFP
Four indigenous children have weakened after nearly 40 days in the Amazon after the plane crash. Their chances of salvation seemed illusory.
That was until an unexpected savior appeared in the heart of the jungle. It had four paws, large pointy ears, and was exhausted after a week-long journey to find them.
Wilson, a six-year-old SWAT tracker, interrupted a massive search operation by wading through the undergrowth and reaching the children first .
They played with a Belgian Shepherd until a human was found. The rescue team got to them, and, according to their family, Wilson became their “true friend.”
But in the midst of the chaos that accompanied the miracle of surviving and retrieving children from the Amazon, Wilson himself disappeared into the undergrowth.
Children found alive after 40 days in rainforest
Now, the Colombian military has said it plans to continue Operation Hope – as the original rescue mission was called – to bring back the unlikely rescue hero. – said the armed forces. “The Colombian military's Operation Hope will not end until he is found.”
Dozens of Colombian commandos are now in the jungle in search of the heroic sniffer dog, and the children – 13-year-old Leslie, 9-year-old Solaney, 5-year-old Thien Noriel and 1-year-old Christine – are recovering in a Bogota hospital.
Astrid Cáceres , the director of the Columbia Institute for Family Welfare, who cares for them, said they kept talking about the dog they became friends with.
She said Leslie “told us about the dog, what they lost, what they didn't they knew where it had gone, that for a while it accompanied them.”
At the hospital, Leslie drew a pencil drawing of a dog under a tree by the river, waving its paw as a yellow bird flew overhead.
Upon learning his name, she wrote “Wilson” next to him.< /p> 
Leslie's drawing of Wilson
Soleney drew a similar dog, brown, with black pointed ears. sitting next to a purple flower under a bright yellow sun.
A miraculous rescue of children has swept through Colombia, but now the country is in turmoil as the search for Wilson continues.
>People have put “Missing Wilson” posters in their windows and posted them on social media under tags including #Let'sGoForWilson and #WilsonNationalHero.
Christian David Lara, Wilson's curator, is still looking for him in the tropical forest. .
A colleague told El Espectador newspaper that the officer would not leave the Amazon “until he found his dog.”
General Pedro Sánchez, who led Operation Hope, said: “We are going for Wilson, we're going to get him back.”
Witoto indigenous children were on a Cessna plane that crashed on May 1.
The bodies of their mother, the pilot and a local indigenous leader were found at the crash site.
Leslie was praised for her “warlike” spirit, helping to protect her younger siblings. They survived on seeds, jungle and cassava meal.
Wilson was one of ten dogs that accompanied the search party. AFP
During the rescue operation, it was Wilson who discovered baby Christine's bottle more than two miles from the wreckage.
He was one of 10 dogs that accompanied 200 soldiers and local jungle experts in the search.
They continued to find signs that the children were alive, including half-eaten fruit, discarded diapers, footprints, and makeshift hiding places.
After a while, amid thunder and lightning and difficult terrain, Wilson separated from the rescue team .
But as they got closer to the children, rescuers saw human footprints and dog prints nearby, suggesting that Wilson got to the children first.
Wilson ran into problems to survive, including snakes and jaguars, insects, floods and armed drug gangs.
The Colombian military has promised that Operation Hope will continue “for our canine Wilson” whose “drive to find children” has led to that he was separated.
Colombian General Helder Giraldo said: “Now about 70 commandos are looking for him.”
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