Rich Moore, a 71-year-old man, was found dead three months after he went missing while hiking with his dog.
The body was discovered in the southern Colorado Rockies in August, and his devoted terrier, which had lived in the wilderness, was still by his side.
According to a Facebook post from Taos Search and Rescue, Rich Moore set out with his Jack Russell Terrier, Finney, on August 19 with plans to summit Blackhead Peak, a 12,500-foot height peak in Colorado's San Juan Mountains, and has yet to return.
Moore, from nearby Pagosa Springs, had been missing for almost months before a hunter discovered his body on October 30, around two and a half miles east of the mountaintop, with Finney nearby.
When Finney was discovered, he had dropped almost half of his body weight but appeared in relatively excellent form, according to Taos member Delinda Vanne-Brightyn, who reacted to the first search for Moore.
"It just brings us all to tears, the loyalty of that dog," she said on CNN on Monday.
Vanne-Brightyn and her certified K9 shepherd, AkioYodasan, joined the search for Moore. She added that Moore was searched for multiple times, beginning at the mountain crest and proceeding westward toward the parking lot where he had left his car.
She noted that because parts of the mountain are so steep, the personnel had to be carried in by helicopter. She stated that trekking to the summit is an "extremely rigorous" endeavor.
Moore went missing on a bright and sunny day, according to Vanne-Brightyn, who added that an avid hiker should have been able to see where his car was parked from the peak.
Finney most likely survived by drinking water from adjacent underground streams and catching tiny creatures like field mice or chipmunks.
