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Less than 24 hours after being reported missing by Toronto police, the husband of former mayoral candidate George Smitherman was found in a wooded area near west-end train tracks lying “bunched up on the ground next to the fence line.”

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Christopher Peloso, 39, was located by a police dog named Ranger around 11 a.m. Wednesday, concluding a search that involved Toronto police choppers, RCMP and even the marine unit. He was taken from the scene in an ambulance and is being treated in hospital.

According to Ranger’s handler, Sgt. Scott Fowlds, the 6-year-old German shepherd was searching the south side of the railway tracks near Lansdowne and Dupont, heading west, when he rushed into the woods and started barking.

Though conscious when found, Mr. Peloso “seemed groggy,” said Sgt. Fowlds.

Mr. Peloso was transported to Toronto Western Hospital, where, several hours later, Mr. Smitherman emerged from the emergency entrance to make a brief statement to the press. He thanked police and Ranger for bringing his husband back to safety.