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Dog of missing Colorado hiker, 27, is 'miraculously' found on highway

Freja

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Happy the dog, is 'miraculously' found on highway 13 miles away from trailhead where his owner, 27, went missing 11 days ago during hike
  • Josh Hall, 27, of Arvada, Colorado, was last seen on the morning of February 3
  • He and his dog, Happy, were at Hessie Trailhead in Boulder County
  • The pair were planning to make a 12.1-mile long hike to Devil's Thumb Lake
  • Happy was found alive on Thursday, more than a week after Hall went missing
  • He lost between 10 and 15 pounds and did not have frostbite, Hall's parents said
  • Dog was discovered on highway 13 miles from Hessie Trailhead, deputies said
  • Hall's mother said that it was 'miraculous' the dog was found alive and well
  • Deputies suspended search for Hall due to 'white out' and 'avalanche' conditions
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Josh Hall, 27, of suburban Denver, Colorado has been missing since February 3 after he was last seen hiking in Boulder County, according to authorities

The dog of a missing Colorado hiker who was last seen on February 3 has been 'miraculously' found after surviving the wilderness for eight days before he was located on a highway 13 miles from where the pair started a hike.

Authorities in Boulder County are still searching for Josh Hall, 27, of Arvada, a suburb of Denver.

Hall went missing after he and his dog, Happy, were last seen on the evening of February 3 near Hessie Trailhead, a popular hiking point that leads to the Indian Peaks Wilderness.

Happy was found on Thursday near the Peak to Peak Highway in Boulder County, about 13 miles from the Hessie Trailhead.

‘The pup has been reunited with family and is getting some much needed food and love,’ according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities are asking the public to ‘be on the lookout for anything associated with Josh’ including clothing items or a leash.

Nick Vukson, Hall's stepfather, said Happy lost between 10-to-15 pounds, though there were no signs of frostbite.

'How can a domestic dog be up in the Rocky Mountains in some extremely severe conditions and emerge with no frostbite whatsoever,' Vukson told KMGH-TV.

'We don't know if maybe he had found some shelter and perhaps Josh was with him. We're not sure.'

Hall's mother, Laura Vukson, said Happy's discovery has given her renewed hope that her son is alive.

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Happy, Hall's dog, was found alive on a highway on Thursday some 13 miles from where he and Hall began a hike on the morning of February 3

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Hall is seen left with his dog in November 2016. Happy (seen right) was reunited with his family and 'is getting some much needed food and love,’ the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said

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Hall went missing after he and his dog, Happy, were last seen on the evening of February 3 near Hessie Trailhead, a popular hiking point that leads to the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Happy was found on Thursday near the Peak to Peak Highway in Boulder County, about 13 miles from the Hessie Trailhead

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The BCSO put out a statement indicating that the search for Hall has been hampered by hazardous weather conditions including 'thigh to chest deep snow, white out visibility, avalanche hazards, and winds gusting between 30-40 miles per hour'

'Based on the information I was given, I did not think that there was any chance that they could have survived,' she said.

'And the fact that Happy is here absolutely gives me renewed hope.'

But, she added: 'I'm terrified that that means that Happy stayed with Josh until he succumbed to the cold.'

According to investigators, it is believed that Hall was attempting to hike to Devil’s Thumb Lake.

The Devil’s Thumb Lake trail near Nederland that starts at the Hessie Trailhead is a 12.1-mile long hike that is considered difficult given that anyone who reaches the lake would have to climb an elevation of almost 2,500ft.

According to Hall’s mother, Hall and Happy started hiking the Devil’s Thumb Lake Trail sometime between 10:30am and 10:45am on February 3.

Hall’s mother said that Happy's discovery was 'miraculous.'

She wrote on her Facebook page that her son had planned to hike for a few hours before returning home to Arvada to take a 5pm online class.

That meant he would have had to have completed the hike by 4pm at the latest.

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Hall went missing after he and his dog, Happy, were last seen on the evening of February 3 near Hessie Trailhead, a popular hiking point that leads to the Indian Peaks Wilderness

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Authorities are asking the public to ‘be on the lookout for anything associated with Josh’ including clothing items or a leash

Laura Vukson writes that her son’s cell phone pinged at 12:03pm, putting him in the vicinity of Devil’s Thumb Lake Trail.

The nearby Eldora Ski Resort had reported a massive snowstorm with ‘white-out conditions’ and ‘multiple inches of snow in a matter of minutes’ rolled through the area between 12:30 and 1:15pm.

'We believe that he was, unfortunately, at the furthest point when the really crazy snowstorm came in,' Laura Vukson told KMGH-TV.

Hall’s mother said her son, who is ‘an experienced hiker with a pace between 3 and 3.5mph,’ is ‘believed to have been at Devil’s Thumb Lake or further east at the continental divide when the weather arrived.’

She said Hall was likely located some 6 miles from the trailhead.

When Hall did not return home that night, the authorities were alerted and a team of some 70 searchers braved winter storm conditions to look for him and Happy.

The search team spent four days looking for the pair but were unable to locate them, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.

The ground search was eventually suspended due to hazardous weather conditions, including 'thigh to chest deep snow' and wind gusts of up to 40mph.

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Hall’s mother said her son, who is ‘an experienced hiker with a pace between 3 and 3.5mph,’ is ‘believed to have been at Devil’s Thumb Lake or further east at the continental divide when the weather arrived.’

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At the time of his disappearance, Hall, who is 6ft4in and weighs 200lbs, was wearing either a soft shell gray-brown jacket or a dark hard shell jacket, according to his mother

Vukson said that the search was called off due to ‘high avalanche conditions.’

At the time of his disappearance, Hall, who is 6ft4in and weighs 200lbs, was wearing either a soft shell gray-brown jacket or a dark hard shell jacket, according to his mother.

Hall also had a gray-black backpack and a long black leash.

Vukson writes that Happy was without a leash when he was found and that Hall allowed him to hike with no leash.

Anyone with information helpful to the search for Hall is asked to contact Boulder County dispatch at 303-441-4444.

Dog of missing Colorado hiker, 27, is 'miraculously' found on highway | Daily Mail Online
 

Incokneegrow

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Damn. His family said it give them hope... it wouldnt for me. Not if the dog lost that much weight. 27 is young. Sad story
 

Alicia

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I hate to say it, but finding the dog alive without his owner makes it all the more likely that he didn’t survive. Dogs are loyal to the bitter end, and there’s no way he would abandon his owner in distress unless he could sense that he’s dead.

The only hopeful possibility is that they got separated somehow.
 

Hanaboy

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An experienced hiker or not, doing a hike alone in the dead of winter storm conditions is extremely....stupid. He most likely got disoriented and lost track of his route and succumbed to the cold, or lost his footing, or got knocked out somehow and froze to death.

Either way, 99% chance he's dead. People need to stop overestimating their abilities and underestimating nature. Your abilities mean nothing with how sporadic weather conditions can change.
 

THE STANDARD

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Hiking alone is dangerous but it’s even more dangerous in treacherous/ frigid conditions. Why?

Hope the man’s alive but I don’t knows
 

SuccessfullyMe

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An experienced hiker or not, doing a hike alone in the dead of winter storm conditions is extremely....stupid. He most likely got disoriented and lost track of his route and succumbed to the cold, or lost his footing, or got knocked out somehow and froze to death.

Either way, 99% chance he's dead. People need to stop overestimating their abilities and underestimating nature. Your abilities mean nothing with how sporadic weather conditions can change.

I do not hike alone. I always hike with someone else. I got lost hiking in the fall ... I can only imagine if it was winter. I stop hiking by October 31st and start up around May or June when there is limited rain. Not gonna catch me.
 

AmusedByIdiocy

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An experienced hiker or not, doing a hike alone in the dead of winter storm conditions is extremely....stupid. He most likely got disoriented and lost track of his route and succumbed to the cold, or lost his footing, or got knocked out somehow and froze to death.

Either way, 99% chance he's dead. People need to stop overestimating their abilities and underestimating nature. Your abilities mean nothing with how sporadic weather conditions can change.


This. Nature is its own force, with its own agency. Its power should be respected and every precaution taken. For people who get innocently swept away, it’s the greatest tragedy. To go pit yourself against the elements is something else entirely.

I hope the dog regains weight quickly and recovers well. That’s traumatising for the dog. It’s highly unlikely it would leave if the man was alive.
 

KingTchalla

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This is bittersweet. I'm glad the family got their pup back, but I'm not sure it's such a hopeful sign for the son. Dogs are intensely loyal, I don't think they'd find the dog without the son somewhere nearby, but I hope I'm wrong
 

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