Dog that fled crash reunited with family as teens recover from injuries

A family's pet that went missing after two teens were critically injured in a crash has been reunited with its family as the teens recover. 

Phoenix police say four teens were riding in a vehicle when they ran out of gas just west of I-17 on Cactus Road. Mindy Markle, 16, and another girl got out of the vehicle to push it out of the roadway when they were struck from behind by a vehicle.

The teens were reportedly pinned by the other car and were transported to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The other two teens were not injured.

During the crash, a Chihuahua that belonged to one of the girls fled. 

Officer Haught and Petersen were two of the first who arrived at the scene of the crash and were informed of the missing dog and decided to keep an eye out for it. 

They were patrolling the area the next day and saw someone place a Chihuahua down in the area and walk away from it. Police say a woman then picked up the animal and placed it in a nearby brush. The officers were able to successfully locate and retrieve the animal.

Police contacted the girl's family and informed them their Chihuahua was found. The pet was reunited with its family as the teens continue their recovery process.