Molly the border collie found in New Zealand’s remote backcountry a week after owner’s hiking accident
A border collie separated from her owner during a hiking accident was found alive at the base of a waterfall in a remote New Zealand region after nearly a week of searching, rescuers said.
The dog, Molly, 4, was located on Tuesday near the Southern Alps, close to where she was last seen.
Molly had gone missing after her owner, Jessica Johnston, fell nearly 55m during a hike in rugged terrain in the Arahura Valley on 24 March near the town of Hokitika.
Ms Johnston survived the fall and was airlifted out with serious injuries, but Molly disappeared in the chaos, leaving little hope she could endure the harsh conditions alone.
Despite the odds, a small helicopter team – made up of experienced volunteers – decided to try.
According to The Guardian, Lillian Newton, safety manager and pilot with Precision Helicopters, who helped coordinate the mission, said she couldn’t shake the feeling that the dog might still be out there. Ms Newton from Precision Helicopters said she had a “a gut feeling” that Molly was still alive.
Funding quickly became the first hurdle. Helicopter searches in such remote areas are costly, and there is no official system in place to cover animal rescues in the wilderness. So Ms Newton and her team turned to the public.
Precision Helicopters is not a formal rescue service and was not involved in the initial operation to evacuate Ms Johnston. However, after learning about her survival and the missing dog, Ms Newton moved quickly to organise a search.
“We rang Jess and made sure she was okay for us to put it to the public,” Ms Newton said.
“The goal was to get $2,400 and some volunteers that were experienced to come along.”
Within hours, donations poured in from across the country, allowing the team to mobilise.
The terrain they were heading into was far from forgiving. As Ms Newton described it, the area was “extremely remote, rough, bushy and wet”.
Dense vegetation, constant rain, and steep alpine conditions made the search both technically demanding and physically draining.
“Looking for Molly was a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. This terrain is extremely isolated, extremely rough. We have thick bush, and we have the most rainfall in New Zealand,” Ms Newton told Outside magazine.
