Two Hero Dogs Help Save Woman with Dementia Who Spent Over 24 Hours Lost in the Utah Heat

Utah officials are crediting a barking pup and a working dog with finding a missing woman after she became lost in extreme heat for more than 24 hours.

According to a Facebook post shared on July 11 by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (Utah DWR), an 80-year-old woman was reported missing last month to the Emery County Sheriff's Office after she failed to return home after taking her dog out for a walk on a nearby mountainside. The post added that the missing woman had dementia, which increased concerns about her safety.

According to the Utah DWR, one of the agency's officers — along with K-9 assistant Kip, who is "trained and certified to track humans" — began searching for the missing woman shortly after the report came in. By that time, it was dark outside.

Although the temperatures in Emery County had dropped to 55 degrees after dark, authorities were worried about the missing woman's health since temperatures reached nearly 100 degrees earlier in the day. According to Utah DWR, "Due to the extreme heat, the amount of time that had passed, and the many search-and-rescue personnel in the area, the likelihood of Kip successfully tracking the woman was low."

However, after the officer and Kip began tracking near where the woman went missing, the pair heard a dog barking at around 3:30 a.m., according to the post. They searched the area where they heard the dog but didn't immediately find the woman.

According to Utah DWR's Facebook post about the search, a neighbor in the area called in a rep -

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ort the following day stating that he had also heard the barking dog, and it was coming from an area of land without homes.

"After gaining access to local security cameras, they saw footage of the woman walking past with her dog, heading to the west," the post stated. "Our officer and his K-9 began their search in that direction, joined by the concerned neighbor."

Kip and the officer then took for the mountains, searching higher and higher as they attempted to get closer to the sound of the dog barking. When the group reached the noise's source, they located the woman.

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Although the woman was "extremely dehydrated," missing her shoes, and covered in some minor cuts and bruises, the Utah DWR reported that she was "in good condition" overall. The woman's dog had stayed right by her side. The neighbor that had accompanied the officer and Kip handed the 80-year-old some water before heading back to his home to call authorities and notify them that she had been found.

"Our officer stayed with the woman until other help arrived, and she was transported to the local hospital for medical evaluation," the Utah DWR's post added. "At the end of the day, her dog saved her life by barking to alert our officer and K-9 Kip. We're so glad she was found safe."

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