At a home outside Brookhaven, in Lincoln County Mississippi, a grandmother was enjoying a quiet afternoon with her grandson. The family dog had been missing for two to three days, having mysteriously vanished from around the family’s property. Then just like a dog, four-year-old Gabe Allbritton went missing.

A frantic search ensued, and the boy was discovered at the bottom of a 23 foot hole . . . along with his dog. It is believed that Gabe somehow heard his dog and went to investigate before falling into the hole himself. None of his family knew the hole was there, according to authorities. It was initially described as a well, and may have been one of the 10’s of thousands of old, abandoned, unknown wells that are littered across the country.

Thankfully, the boy wasn’t actually wedged in tight, but it took some time to figure out how to attach the rescue harness that emergency crews had lowered into the hole. With the help of 2 firefighters he was finally able to get it strapped on. He was pulled free of his hole with about 100 people cheering that had gathered at the scene. To complete the happy ending, the dog was freed shortly thereafter.