(CNN Spanish) — Dozens of Colombian army soldiers are still on a mission to search for Wilson, the rescue dog who helped search for four indigenous children lost in the Amazon jungle, who were rescued 40 days after a plane crash.
Brigadier General of the Colombian military, Herder Fernán Giraldo, told reporters in Bogotá on Tuesday that Operation Speranza, which has been carrying out search and rescue operations for the four children for more than a month, will not end until Wilson no where they are.
“Operation Hope continues. In accordance with the guidelines of the President and the Minister of National Defense, this operation culminated, God willing, with your help, until we were able to recover the dog Wilson. At this time we have in this area of operation to these military forces commandos in the search and recovery of the dog,” Giraldo said on Tuesday.
Giraldo said his men would stay in the jungle for now trying to locate Wilson, at a news conference in Bogota.
“We have about 70 commandos looking for him right now,” the military said.
For the military, Wilson was “the first soldier” in making contact with children aged between 1 and 13, found over the weekend and taken to Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, to stabilize them.
Wilson, a special forces search dog, encountered the missing children in the jungle at one point, and “became their faithful friend and accompanied them on several occasions,” his grandfather said in an interview with the military. this monday.
“The dog was with them first. They left, the dog came back again and left, but then the dog disappeared,” said Narciso Mucutuy, the children’s grandfather, in testimony released by the ministry. of the Colombian Defense.
Wilson, a Belgian Shepherd, went missing during search operations and was last seen on May 18, according to authorities. The children “were three or four days with Wilson and said they[found]him quite thin,” Air Force General Pedro Sánchez said earlier.
Suárez has also said previously that they would do everything possible not to leave any “man” behind.
Meanwhile, reports from the authorities on the state of health of the children say they are in good health, General Helder Fernán Giraldo said at a press conference on Tuesday.
— With information from Stefano Pozzebon of CNN in Bogota.
