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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Girl safe after night in barn with donkeys

A 10-year-old girl spent the night alone in a barn with about 10 donkeys in southeast Spokane while a team of officers and volunteers combed her neighborhood late Sunday and early Monday.

The girl disappeared from her home in the 2300 block of South Myrtle Street on Sunday evening and was found just before 8 a.m. Monday more than a mile away, in the 2500 block of South Cherry Lane. The search involving Spokane police and 12 volunteers started about 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

Officer Ryan Snider said the girl was found after she emerged from the barn at daybreak and the property owner spotted her. The owner then flagged down an officer who was in the area searching for her, Snider said.

The girl apparently went walking in search of wildlife. As darkness fell, the girl walked into a barn because the donkeys were there, and she slept among them, Snider said.

“She didn’t seem at all scared,” he said, adding she was apparently unaware of the danger of being out alone at night.

Officers used an armored vehicle with heat-sensing devices during the search.