A missing four-year-old boy was found safe last Sunday in Whitehorse.

At 1:05 p.m., Whitehorse RCMP received a report of the missing child from the Whistle Bend neighbourhood.

The youngster had wandered away from family members while playing outside in the recent mild temperatures, the RCMP said Monday afternoon.

Police, including general duty officers from Whitehorse RCMP, the M Division Traffic Unit, the M Division Police Dog Services (PDS), and other available officers, went to the area to start the search.

Yukon Search and Rescue (YSAR) was activated and, en route, a helicopter from Horizon Helicopter had begun an air search in the area.

At 2:23 p.m., the child was located safe and uninjured by police service dog Duke and his handler, Cpl. Cam Long.

Police said they appreciated the immediate and enthusiastic response from the community when information went out about the missing child, whose name was not officially released.

“Missing children files are the absolute top priority for police. It was so helpful to have concerned neighbours checking their yards and parking spots and sharing this news on social media,” said Insp. Lindsay Ellis, the Whitehorse RCMP detachment commander.

“I know that a lot of people wanted to immediately join the search in the neighbourhood, but allowing the police dog services to efficiently complete their initial track and preserving the area for YSAR search teams meant that we were able to follow best practices for missing person investigations and locate this child.”

Police also said they appreciated the co-operation from drivers stopped at the check stops exiting Whistle Bend as they shared information for awareness of the missing child.