Man dies while hiking near Eatonville, dog stays by his side

A 64-year-old died while hiking near Eatonville and his dog stayed by his side until search and rescue crews found him, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department said on Friday.

The man's wife called 911 to report her husband, their dog Daisy and vehicle were missing from their home.

Crews searched the Evans Creek area but found no sign of the missing man.

At about 4:45 p.m. crews located the missing man's vehicle parked along Mashel Prairie Road near Eatonville.

Deputies entered the man's vehicle and found a list of geocache locations and mapped the locations for their search.

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One hour later, the search and rescue team heard a dog barking. A deputy hiked towards it and spotted a dog that matched the description of the missing dog.

The deputy hiked another 30 minutes and located the missing man, who died from what appeared to be injuries during a fall, investigators said.

Crews set up a rope system to bring the man's body down.

The dog was taken home.

"Without the barking of his loyal companion Daisy, we never would have located the missing man. It was amazing," said the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.

Cox Media Group