A 71-year-old man’s dog truly proved to be man’s best friend this week when his faithful companion stayed by his side after getting tangled in barbed wire and stuck for more than two days .
South Carolina resident Billy Wayne Kearse disappeared from his home April 16 after going fishing with his chihuahua, Cherokee County Sheriff Steve Mueller told USA TODAY Tuesday.
Kearse is from the town of Gaffney in upstate South Carolina, about 50 miles southwest of Charlotte.
Around 11 a.m. Thursday, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office received a call from two friends saying they were looking for Kearse and found his box of fishing tackle.
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The same day, officers went to the area where the man’s fishing gear was found and, after a search, discovered Kearse tangled in barbed wire with his dog nearby.
“He got stuck trying to get over the fence and snagged on the barbed wire as it wrapped around his ankle,” Mueller said.
After officers freed him, Kearse was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital to be treated for dehydration, officials said.
“The dog did not come to the officers and run away, but was back at the home when the officers arrived to inform the family that we had located their loved one,” Mueller said.
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Mueller said Kearse remained in the hospital Tuesday but his condition was improving day by day and his prognosis for recovery “looks very good.”
“We are grateful to the two citizens who were aware of the search efforts last night to locate the missing person and who continued to check their property this morning and informed us after locating the fishing tackle box,” Mueller wrote in a press release. “Their efforts put us in the right place and officers were then able to locate him. Now we are all praying for his recovery!”
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Contact her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: South Carolina man found trapped in barbed wire with dog by his side
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