Lost dog leads police to girl in river

April 14, 2007 (LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.) - Authorities say a lost dog helped alert police to a teenage girl who had fallen into the Des Plaines River yesterday in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood.

The girl was rescued by paramedics in a small boat.

Sergeant Greg Duffey says a police officer spotted a husky wandering outside the Lincolnshire Police Department yesterday afternoon. The dog was alone but was wearing a leash.

The officer began searching a footpath around a pond across the street from the Police Department and at the north end he heard a girl yelling for help.

The 14-year-old was clinging to a downed tree in the river after falling in while walking the dog. After the rescue, she was taken to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where she was reported in good condition.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)