Hiker Missing for Months Found Dead With Dog Still Alive Beside Him

The body of a missing Colorado man was recovered atop a mountain in the San Juan National Forest nearly three months after he disappeared. His faithful dog miraculously survived, and was found next to his body, according to a statement from Taos Search and Rescue on Facebook.

71-year-old Rich Moore left home with his Jack Russell terrier, Finney, to scale Blackhead Peak on August 19. Moore was reported missing later that evening. It wasn’t until October 30, however, that a hunter stumbled upon his remains in a drainage basin, People reported. Finney was still by his side, somehow surviving through the elements for 72 days.

Authorities reported that Finney was transported to a local veterinary hospital. After being evaluated, she was released and has now “been reunited with her family.” Moore’s body was removed on October 31. A cause of death hasn’t been released, but foul play is not suspected at this time.

Though rescue crews scoured the area for Moore and Finney for over 2,000 hours, they missed his body because it was located nearly two miles from the peak he was attempting to summit.”We searched from just under the peak-top and directly west [of Blackhead Peak], searching down the mountain toward where his car was located,” TSR officer Delinda Vanne-Brightyn recalled in the statement. She explained that the region “was so steep” searchers needed to be dropped in via helicopter.

“Delinda and TSAR would like to send our condolences to the family,” the statement concluded, “but are glad they were able to gain some closure as well as bring their dog back home.”