The four Indigenous children who survived a plane crash and 40 days alone in the Colombian Amazon are continuing their recovery in Bogotá’s military hospital, and the oldest two have been well enough to pick up crayons.
In their first pictures released by Colombia’s armed forces, a four-legged figure jumps from the page: Wilson, the Belgian shepherd dog who helped lead rescuers to their location – and who remains missing in the jungle.
One drawing, signed by Lesly – the 13-year-old credited with keeping her siblings alive through her knowledge of the jungle – shows Wilson between trees and a river. The second, signed by Soleiny, nine, shows the dog next to a large flower, the sun and the Colombian flag.
The four “miracle children” were found in a forest clearing on Friday, more than a month after the plane crash in which their mother and two other adults died.
They had survived by eating fruit, and using large leaves to shelter from the rain – and they told their rescuers that for at least some of the time, they had been accompanied by a large dog.
That animal is believed to have been Wilson, one of 10 military sniffer dogs deployed in the search operation.
Wilson was last seen on Thursday, the day before the children’s rescue. “We saw him about 40 meters away and we tried to call him,” Carlos Villegas, one of the dog handlers told El Tiempo. “My companion drew close to him, he tried to play with him in order to grab him, but [Wilson] ran off.”
It is believed the six-year-old Belgian shepherd may have become disorientated in the thick foliage or that an encounter with a dangerous predator may have caused a change in his normal behaviour.
“According to what the children told us, we can confirm that Wilson, our commando, was with them, quite emaciated and without much to eat out there in the jungle,” Gen Pedro Sánchez, told press on Saturday. “But our faith remains intact and we are still looking for him.”
The dog remains missing and an operation to find him is ongoing.
Meanwhile, a custody battle has broken out among the children’s relatives, with the father of two of them facing accusations of domestic violence.
The siblings are expected to stay in hospital for several days, during which time Colombia’s child protection agency will interview family members to determine who should care for them.
