Dog leads rescuers to injured walker

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• A walker injured her knee in a wooded area near Montmollin on Sunday evening and was unable to walk any further.
• Her dog returned home alone, whereupon relatives alerted the emergency services.
• A large-scale search operation involving a drone, search dogs and a Rega helicopter was ultimately successful.

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A dog that had returned home alone triggered a rescue operation for an injured walker in the canton of Neuchâtel on Monday night. The woman had injured her knee during a walk and was unable to continue.

The extensive search in a wooded area near Montmollin lasted several hours, as the Neuchâtel cantonal police reported on Monday. The 50-year-old woman, who lives in the region, was walking her dog on Sunday evening at around 10.15 p.m. when she injured her knee. As she had no means of communication with her, she was unable to alert the emergency services.

After the dog returned home without its owner, her relatives became suspicious and called the emergency services. The Neuchâtel cantonal police then launched an extensive search operation.

Located by helicopter

Several gendarmerie patrols, a dog squadron, specialists from the criminal investigation department and a drone were deployed. The emergency services also received support from members of the Alpine Rescue Service. A helicopter from the Rega base in Interlaken, equipped with night vision technology, was also called out to help in the search.

At around 3.15 a.m., the crew succeeded in locating the missing woman from the air. The ground crews were then able to reach her.

In addition to her knee injury, the injured woman was already suffering from hypothermia. After receiving first aid from the paramedics, she was taken to Pourtalès Hospital in Neuchâtel.