The two-year-old, who spent the night alone in the wilderness of Arizona and walked seven miles across the territory of the Mountain Lion, was safely led by a rancher dog, authorities said Tuesday.

A huge search operation began Monday around 5pm when the boy disappeared from his home in Seligman, Arizona, about 100 miles south of Grand Canyon National Park. He wore a blue tank top and pajama pants, the Yabapai County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office said more than 40 rescuers, including the Department of Public Safety Rangers, were involved in the search, and DPS helicopters found two mountain lions in the area.

However, 16 hours after he went missing, rancher Scotty Dunton found him on a land seven miles away. The boy is well safe and appears to have been led to his property by the rancher dog Buford.

“I got on a truck and went to town, and I see Buford walking along the side of the fence with a little blonde kid with him,” Danton said. Phoenix’s NBC Affiliate KPNX. “I heard about the missing child this morning and knew it was him.”

Danton asked the boy if he had been walking all night, and he replied, “No, I lay under a tree.”

The beef farmer said the boy was in good condition but was upset. The rancher follows the boy’s stairs and realizes that the dog has been escorting him for at least a mile. He said Buford, the Anatolia Pyrenese, usually patrolling his land and wards from the Coyotes.

“He went through some rough countries, all mountains, canyons and boulder mountains. It’s rough for adults, not to mention two-year-olds,” Danton said. “He did an incredible job going seven miles like he did.”

Danton added that lions, coyotes and sometimes bears can be found in the area.

Danton said of Buford, “He loves children and I don’t think he’ll leave him once he finds him.”