Dog lost in Alaskan wilderness found by pilot nine days later

Ammon

17-07-2025

Ammon News - A dog who went missing during a camping trip in Alaska was found over a week later by a pilot who decided to go searching in his small plane.
Soldotna residents Lewis and Amber Ekle said they were camping near Carmen Lake over the Fourth of July weekend when their dog, Koda, became spooked and ran off.
"We tried to grab his collar," Lewis Ekle told KTUU-TV. "He grabbed his frisbee ... and said, 'No, I'm out.'"
The couple spent nine days searching for Koda on foot and by boat, but they couldn't find any sign of the canine.
They posted about the missing dog in several different Facebook groups, getting the attention of multiple volunteer searchers, including pilot John Kagerer.
"I just had a real feeling. I don't know, a gut feeling that I was going to find the dog," Kagerer said.
The pilot landed his plane about a half mile from where Koda disappeared, and the dog appeared within minutes.
"Here comes the dog out of the alders over to me, you know. But it wouldn't get any closer than about 10 feet to me," Kagerer said.
He used some dog treats he kept in his plane to lure Koda to come close enough that he could secure him with a rope and load him into the plane for a flight back to Anchorage for a reunion with his owners.
"That sucker punch in our stomachs for nine days and afterwards it was just like this huge weight lifted off your shoulder. It's just amazing to have him back home," Amber Eckle said. UPI