EMERY COUNTY, Utah (KUTV) — A missing Utah woman was saved by her dog after she became lost in the mountains.
Emery County Sheriff’s deputies reportedly received a call about a woman with dementia who had gone out to walk the family dog but had never returned.
After more than a day had passed, a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officer and his K-9 partner, Kip, were called in to help.
Authorities noted that the temperature in the area would linger around 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and drop to 55 degrees Fahrenheit at nighttime.
K-9 Kip is trained and certified to track humans, but the extent of the heat and the amount of time that had passed decreased the likelihood of Kip successfully locating the woman.
After searching around some nearby cabins, the officer and K-9 Kip reportedly heard a dog barking around 3:30 a.m. Thinking they were hearing the woman’s dog, they tried following the noise but could not locate the woman or her dog.
The next day, a neighbor of the missing woman contacted the officer and reported that he had also heard barking, noting that it had been coming from an area without any homes.
Local security footage revealed that the woman and her dog had headed west on the day of their walk. The officer, K-9 Kip and the neighbor headed out together in that direction.
While searching alongside the mountain, they reportedly began to hear barking again and followed the sounds as they became louder and louder. After some time, the crew located the woman and her dog.
They shared that she was found in good condition with only some scratches and bruises, though she was extremely dehydrated and was missing her shoes.
The neighbor gave the woman his water and ran back to the residential area to get cell service and call the sheriff’s office.
Other resources eventually made it to the scene and transported the woman to a local hospital for medical evaluation.
At the end of the day, her dog saved her life by barking to alert our officer and K-9 Kip,” wildlife officials said. “We’re so glad she was found safe.”