Missing woman with dementia vanished walking dog — then came barks, Utah officials say

A woman with dementia took the family dog out for a walk in the Utah mountains and didn’t return, officials said.

An Emery County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived with his K-9, Kip, at the search area after dark that day , the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said on Facebook.

“Although daytime temperatures reached nearly 100 degrees, the mountain’s nighttime temperature had dropped to a chilly 55 degrees,” officials said in the July 11 post. “K-9 Kip is trained and certified to track humans. But, 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.”

In the middle of the night, the duo tracked around nearby cabins the woman might have passed, officials said. Then, Kip and the officer heard a dog barking around 3:30 a.m.

“They moved their search toward the barking, thinking it might be the missing woman’s dog,” officials said. “But they didn’t find her.”

The next day, one of the woman’s neighbors contacted the K-9 officer and said he’d also heard the barking — “coming from an area without any homes,” officials said.

The K-9 officer gained access to local security cameras, and the neighbor and officer “saw footage of the woman walking past with her dog, heading to the west,” officials said.

“Our officer and his K-9 began their search in that direction, joined by the concerned neighbor,” officials said. “As they searched higher along the mountainside, they heard barking again, and it was growing louder.”

They eventually found the missing woman — with her Labrador “right by her side protecting her ,” Gray News reported.

The woman was in relatively “good” condition despite some scrapes and bruises, but she was also “extremely dehydrated” and missing her shoes, officials said.

“The neighbor gave her his water and returned to the subdivision to get cell service and notify the sheriff” while the deputy stayed with her, officials said.

She was taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation, officials said.

Emery County is located between the Manti-La Sal National Forest and Arches National Park in east-central Utah. It’s about a 165-mile drive southeast from Salt Lake City.

“At the end of the day, her dog saved her life by barking to alert our officer and K-9 Kip,” officials said. “We’re so glad she was found safe.”

A photo shows the officer posing on a rock with a dog that seems to be the woman’s.

“That’s a good dog!!” someone said in the comments.

“I’m so glad it was a happy ending! Animals are incredible,” another commenter said. “Thanks for your service and not giving up!”

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