Mum wades through river to reach dachshund missing for four days in Stockport park

• Warning: Dog owners and members of the public should not venture into bodies of water to rescue animals. In an emergency, call 999.

The moment a woman waded through a river to reach her dog who had been missing for four days has been captured on camera.Violet, a brown Dachshund, was out on one of her regular walks around Reddish Vale Country Park in Stockport with a dog walker when she suddenly disappeared. 

Her distraught owner, Alifiya Mohamedbhai, was then targeted by a vile scammer who falsely claimed to have Violet and threatened to kill her if she did not hand over £250.But as she started to lose hope after days of searching and urgent appeals on social media, Violet's Apple AirTag, that was fitted to her collar, showed where she was.

Alifiya said: "We had no idea where she was. We spent eight hours looking for her and there were no sightings. Reddish Vale is huge, so she could've been anywhere."

She spotted her "baby" hunched over in an embankment by the River Tame with her tail still wagging. 

Without thinking, Alifiya jumped in and waded through the water to get her, sparking an emotional reunion.

Mum-of-one Alifiya, 33, from Burnage, south Manchester, said: "It's incredible. There isn't a mark on her apart from a sore ear and paw. It is insane."She is such a quiet dog and was out on the same walk that she does every day, and has done for two-and-a-half years with my dog walker and best friend. 

"Nobody knows what spooked her or what happened - she doesn't wander off to explore and always walks by your feet, but she must've turned and just walked off the other way.

"I really had been starting to lose hope. I wish I could see her memory of the last couple of days, find out what she was up to and know what spooked her."The day before Alifiya found Violet, she said she got a disturbing call from a scammer pretending to have her dog and threatening to kill her if she did not hand over £250.

The scammer has since been reported to police after they agreed to meet but nobody turned up.

Alifiya said: "I had a call from a number telling me they had my dog, and when I told them she was spayed they said they didn't want her anymore, but couldn't have her back and that we needed to pay. 

"I had to sit in the bathroom for an one hour and 40 minutes because he wanted to hear the extractor fan, and told me he would kill her if I didn't."Police told me it had been a scam call and that the number and bank account was registered in Leicester.

"I was in such a vulnerable position and almost broke down."

In the latest episode of From the North we ask should suicide prevention be taught in schools?