Image of the Lanipo Trail in Hawaii Reproduction / All Trails
Published on January 19, 2024 4:25 p.m
A dog's barking helped a rescue team find its owner, a 35yearold woman who went missing on a trail in Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii. On January 15, just after 3 p.m. local time, the Honolulu Fire Department received a 911 call about a missing person on the Lanipo Trail (Mauūmae Ridge), a fire department statement said.
Six units with 17 firefighters responded with searches from the air and on the ground. During the search, hikers in the area reported the presence of a dog barking on a steep mountainside about two hours from the trailhead. The team in the helicopter located the dog visually and a firefighter rappelled down the slope about six meters to rescue him.
According to CBS News, citing information from the website Alltrails com, the Mauūmae Ridge Trail is about 7 miles long and dogs are generally not allowed on the trail.
According to the fire department, while airlifting the dog to the landing zone, the pilot noticed an object more than 20 meters below where the dog was. The helicopter then returned to the scene and the firefighter rappelled down again and discovered the item was a bag containing personal items.
At the same time as they were searching the area, firefighters found the owner's name and phone number on the dog's collar, but calls to that number were not answered. Honolulu police were then called to check the woman's home. It turned out that no one was home. Rescue teams also confirmed that the dog's owner's car was parked at the trailhead.
After an extensive air and ground search, firefighters located the woman at 5:37 p.m. local time, about 30 meters below where her handbag was located, under thick foliage. After medical examination and basic care, she was rescued and flown to the landing site where she was taken to a hospital. No one else was injured, Honolulu firefighters say.
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