Local authorities credit the small, tan Chihuahua mix with leading a search and rescue crew to the location of 85-year-old Barbara Dee Crosby some 36 hours after she disappeared from an assisted care facility in Sonora during an evening walk with Poncho.
Poncho was found midweek about two miles from where he was last seen leading rescuers, according to a Facebook post by Tuolumne County Animal Control. The dog was dehydrated but otherwise recovered quickly after being examined by a veterinarian.
“Our hero is back home with his family and doing great!” the agency posted with exuberant emojis on its Facebook page. “Thank you to everyone who shared and searched, because of you, Poncho’s story has a very happy ending. Poncho Has Been Found!”
Sonora, an old Gold Rush town of about 5,000, is located approximately 120 miles east of San Francisco.
Crosby went missing last Friday. Searchers were planning operations the following Sunday night when they received a report from a resident that Crosby’s dog had been spotted in an area near East Bald Mountain Road and had run off into the woods.
Search and rescue members went to the spot and hiked 70 feet down an embankment after dark and found Poncho under some brush, according to a statement by the sheriff’s department.
They found the missing woman asleep on the ground a short distance away.
Because of the steep terrain, which apparently presented an insurmountable obstacle for the senior, rescuers had to use a rope system to safely extract her. As they did, Poncho ran away, and Crosby was taken to a local hospital.
The dog was later spotted by some residents but would run away when approached. Finally, by midweek, Poncho was found and taken in by the county.
The county sheriff’s department gave a special shout-out to Poncho, writing in a Facebook post, “And a special thank you to Poncho, whose loyalty and presence near (Crosby’s) location helped lead us to her – truly the unsung hero of this rescue.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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