Dog leads searchers to his lost owner in Sierra foothills then disappears

"A dog was credited with leading searchers to his owner a woman missing in the Sierra Nevada foothills but he disappeared after her rescue. Poncho, a Chihuahua mix, had been with the woman when she apparently walked away from a senior residence in Sonora over the weekend, the Tuolumne County sheriff's office said. The 85-year-old woman, who has dementia, was seen by staff there around 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, and possibly the following morning around 9:30 or 10."

"Employees became concerned by her absence later that morning and reported her missing, prompting a search that extended into the night. Around 9 p.m., as search organizers were preparing to suspend operations until the next day, residents reported seeing a dog who matched Poncho's description on a road that winds through chaparral on the flanks of Bald Mountain. The searchers went about 70 feet down a steep hillside where the dog had last been seen."

An 85-year-old woman with dementia walked away from a senior residence in Sonora and was reported missing after staff could not locate her. Searchers conducted a multi-day search that extended into the night. Residents spotted a dog matching Poncho's description on a winding road on Bald Mountain, leading searchers about 70 feet down a steep hillside. Searchers found Poncho and the woman asleep a short distance apart; rescuers used a litter and rope system to bring her to the roadway where an ambulance waited. The woman was alert and communicating before transport; Poncho ran off before he could be secured and remained missing.

Read at www.mercurynews.com