San Mateo County

Search Crews Find Missing Hiker, Dog After Nearly Two Days

A 56-year-old woman and her dog, who were missing for almost two days after setting off on a hike in unincorporated Woodside, were found Saturday morning, San Mateo County sheriff's officials said.

Bethnee Haury, who was last seen Thursday on Skyline Boulevard, was located alive and conscious in a deep ravine at 10:30 a.m. Saturday along with her Australian Shepherd named Camaro, sheriff's officials said. The dog not only stayed by Haury's side while she was lost, but also helped lead rescuers to her.

"When we called out for her, we heard her yell back and then a couple seconds later, we heard the dog bark very clearly so Camaro did his job," volunteer searcher Mike McKimmie said.

Haury's four-legged friend received some high praise for his valiant efforts, but Bethnee Haury's husband, Ed, wasn't too surprised.

"He's a big hero," he said. "He stayed with her the whole time. She had him on the leash. He's just very loyal. He senses trouble and stuff like that, so that was good."

Haury was airlifted to a hospital, officials said. She is expected to be OK.

"This is phenomenal," Ed Haury, said. "We weren't sure what was going to happen, but this is incredible."

Despite her condition, Bethnee Haury wasn't in the best of shape when she was spotted.

"She was sitting up, shivering, very dehydrated," McKimmie said. "She wanted water. So the first thing we did was get jackets over her, tried to warm her up."

Bethnee Haury, her husband and son, who are Bay Area residents, were staying at an Airbnb when Bethnee Haury left and went on a hike at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday with Camaro.

The family was on vacation and was not "familiar with the area," Det. Salvador Zuno said. At about 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Haury's husband called the sheriff's office to report that his wife had not returned.

Bethnee Haury suffers from early onset dementia and has Type-2 diabetes and requires insulin injections. 

"She has to have food constantly," Ed Haury said. "She has to have a lot of water; insulin once or twice a day."

The San Mateo County Search and Rescue team and the Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit, professional volunteer search teams, had been searching for Bethnee Haury around-the-clock since she was reported missing, according to Zuno. 

More than 70 searchers with trained dogs, teams on horseback, along with off-road vehicles from 16-different Bay Area agencies scoured the trails about seven miles northwest of Woodside. They triple-checked more than a dozen trails within a two-and-a-half mile radius, Zuno said.

An overnight search, which was too dangerous for trained search teams on the ground, continued into early Saturday morning with the help of a specially-equipped sheriff’s office aircraft, officials said. An army of volunteers began combing through the mountains above Woodside on foot after sunrise.

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