They say a dog is a man’s (or woman’s) best friend and this 5-year-old chocolate Labrador proves it, staying by his owner’s side for three days and two nights while teams searched for the missing woman.
An 80-year-old Colorado woman who suffers from dementia was visiting her family’s summer home in a remote area of central Utah when she left her cabin last month. Elsie, a 5-year-old chocolate Labrador, was next to her. When the woman’s family, who were busy preparing dinner, realized that she was missing, they went looking for her. When they couldn’t find her, they alerted authorities and contacted the Emery County Sheriff’s Office for help. Several multi-agency rescue teams sprung into action to locate the missing lady and dog, but were unsuccessful in their efforts.
Ralph Mitchell, a resident of Joes Valley, located in the remote mountains of central Utah, who has known the missing woman’s family for more than 50 years, told USA TODAY that an extensive search involving the sheriff’s office, local authorities and members of the community was led to locate the woman. Helicopters and drones were deployed, personnel were dispatched on motorcycles and trail bikes, and community members went door to door looking for the woman, Mitchell said. No expense was spared and all surrounding areas were checked continuously for two days and nights.
James Thomas, a K9 officer with the Utah Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, told USA TODAY that he and his K9 Kip joined the search efforts on the second day the woman went missing. Kip is trained to pick up human scents and scents, Thomas said.
Thomas explained that the high temperatures in the mornings and afternoons made the search difficult and “working at night”, when temperatures were cooler, was the “best option” for them. Thomas said that during the search they heard faint dog barks several times, alerting them and giving them an idea “where to start looking a little deeper.”
“When I was checking out the premises, I heard a dog bark and it was brief,” Mitchell said. “I was in a very good position to know where this dog barking was coming from.”
Upon hearing the barking, he reached out to the missing woman’s husband telling him what he heard, and the husband told him that his five-year-old pet was also missing with the woman.
Security footage provides guidance to investigators
On the morning of the third day, Thomas said authorities were able to obtain security footage from one of the neighbor’s cameras, which showed the woman walking past that cabin with her dog.
“It was the first evidence we had of her presence and it gave us a timeline of when she was walking and how long she had been missing,” Mitchell said.
Thomas said the footage gave them an idea of which direction the woman may have gone, and he and Mitchell split up and “made it to the slopes” to continue the search.
Rough terrain and steep climb
Mitchell said he followed his instincts, having years of training as a first responder, and headed in the direction where he heard the barking, even though the terrain was becoming extremely rough, steep and bushy.
“I can see why the K-9 unit stopped searching that area,” Mitchell said. “It was very unlikely that this 80-year-old woman would have gone to such a difficult country, but I continued.”
Mitchell said he saw some very light marks showing that someone had passed through there, despite the ground being very dry and hot. Mitchell continued to follow the tracks, passing through dense bushes filled with cacti and rocks, and calling to the dog, until he came within 15 feet of the woman.
That’s when the dog barked again, Mitchell said, leading them to the woman.
Woman found with dog by her side
When she was finally found after an extensive search lasting three days and two nights, Thomas said the woman was sleeping face down with her dog at her side. Mitchell said she had sticks in her hair and had lost her shoes.
“She was all scratched up and had bruises on her arms,” Thomas said, adding that she was also “super dehydrated.”
However, she was alert and happy to see all those who came to rescue her, Thomas said. He shared that the woman had no memory of her ordeal and trauma.
Because there was no cell phone coverage in the area, Mitchell said he began yelling and whistling to alert his family and neighbors, before running down the hill to take them along with water and other first aid supplies.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, in a Post on Facebooksaid the woman was transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation and Mitchell told USA TODAY on Wednesday that the woman is back home and doing well.
Mitchell said the family is extremely grateful to everyone involved in rescuing the missing woman and especially thanked him for not only saving their family matriarch, but also for holding a lifetime of memories for them in a place they love. be.
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As for Elsie, Mitchell said she was taken to the vet for a check-up and was dehydrated but is doing well.
“In my story, the bottom line is that the dog is responsible for me being able to find him,” Mitchell said. “The dog is ultimately the hero in all of this because of his loyalty to his owner. That dog’s determination to stay with his owner and his devotion and dedication are truly commendable.”
“The brief bark I heard that led me to find her was probably the dog defending its owner from a coyote or other wild animal,” he added.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources also attributed the woman’s rescue to her dog, saying her barking alerted those searching in the area.
Saman Shafiq is a trends reporter at USA TODAY. Contact her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: Barking dog helps authorities rescue woman missing for days in Utah
