n who tried to lower herself into Buck Gulley to search for her missing dog had to be rescued herself by firefighters late Sunday night.
According to the Fire Department Battalion Chief Jeff Boyles and a neighbor, the woman returned to her home at the end of Poppy Avenue, abutting Buck Gulley in Corona del Mar, to discover her dog was not there.
Apparently fearing that the dog had escaped the backyard into Buck Gulley, she tied a rope to her deck and began lowering herself down the slope into the gully. There is a vertical drop of about 30 feet at the location, said Boyles, and it is heavily overgrown with brush.
The woman then became stuck in the brush, unable to reach the bottom or climb back out. Firefighters responded to the scene at 11:36 p.m., Boyles reported in an email response to the Independent’s inquiry.
“Fire Department units were able to locate her in the thick vegetation and … brought her back up to safety,” Boyles wrote.
However,” he continued, “her dog remained missing in the deep brush of the Buck Gulley area. … Newport Beach Firefighters set up lighting equipment and lowered a firefighter down the side of the canyon cliff utilizing a high angle rope lowering system. Two other firefighters hiked to the bottom of the canyon on foot utilizing trails in search of the dog.
“The firefighter that was lowered via ropes was attempting to locate the dog in areas alongside the cliff in the brush while the firefighters below searched creek side.
“All of the firefighters had Thermal Imaging Cameras which show heat sources during night time situations. None of the crews were able to locate the dog utilizing light, thermal imaging cameras or sound.”
The firefighters eventually called off the search and left not knowing the dog’s fate, Boyle said.
A neighbor told the Independent the dog returned on its own a short time later.
