Hiker's dog vanished after Alaska avalanche. 50 hours later, rescuers got a ping from her Apple Airtag

For 50 hours, no one knew whether LouLou had been caught in the avalanche, thrown down the mountainside, injured, or simply hiding somewhere. Her solid-white coat made her nearly invisible against the fresh snow. The avalanche had swept Brian and his climbing partner approximately 500 feet down the mountainside. LouLou, the 4-year-old husky-doodle, was hiking with her owner, Brian, and his friend in Chugach State Park in Anchorage when an avalanche near Eklutna Lake struck and separated them. Search parties took 50 hours to locate her and bring her home, according to an October 13, 2026 Facebook post by Lauren Padawer, Brian’s girlfriend.

Stranded in snow

Padawer was 5,000 miles away from the town, celebrating her dad’s 80th birthday when the incident happened. When she came across a Facebook post from the Friends of the Chugach Avalanche Center, she became worried because she knew Brian was there. She started making calls. Turned out, Brian and his hiking partner had suffered injuries, as she described to PEOPLE. Stormy weather, 50-mile winds, and low visibility made it difficult, but Air Force pararescue personnel arrived in a Black Hawk helicopter, evacuated the men, and took them to Providence Hospital in Anchorage for immediate medical care. The men suffered from broken ribs, a broken jaw, a fractured back, and a severe hand injury. They were unable to walk, but thankfully they survived. 

Mystery of the lost dog

The second mystery was the location of LouLou. After the avalanche, LouLou’s whereabouts were unknown. No one knew whether she had been swept downhill, injured, buried, or frightened into hiding. Padawer initiated a quick search for the pooch. She posted in every Alaska backcountry, hiking, mountaineering, and lost pet group. She got in touch with friends, acquaintances, search-and-rescue contacts, and complete strangers. She tried pulling coordinates from Apple Maps. The coordinates were directing her to the nearby Elmendorf Air Force Base, 27 miles away. She tried ChatGPT to help interpret the mapping information, but found that its convincing-looking overlays could be geographically inaccurate. She later compared snow patches, shadows, and rock formations across two maps to identify a more reliable location.

Risking life for the trapped pooch

Meanwhile, people and search parties climbed more than 4000’ elevation, but stormy weather pushed them to return to their homes empty-handed. Barker and Beckett had already searched by helicopter and obtained another AirTag detection before worsening weather forced them back. On their next attempt, another ping helped them locate LouLou, approximately 50 hours after she went missing. They set out in a helicopter towards the ping’s location.

The video shows Barker and Beckett landing the helicopter with the white pooch some distance away. They hopped out of the chopper and climbed through snow for 20 minutes to rescue LouLou. She barked as they approached her. “Come on, sweetheart,” Barker said to the pooch. “Let’s go for a ride, LouLou.” They softly guided her inside the helicopter. She followed their footsteps in the snow. Inside the chopper, the videos show them caressing and embracing the animal. Another piece of footage shows her wrapped in a blanket and munching on food in a bowl.

A signal—and people willing to follow it

AirTags don’t contain GPS receivers. Instead, they rely on Bluetooth signals that nearby Apple devices can detect, which helps track a location in real time. According to Apple, the AirTags contain a speaker that’s 50% louder and has up to a 1.5x greater precision finding range. AirTags emit Bluetooth signals that nearby devices on Apple’s Find My network can detect and relay, allowing owners to view a reported location in the app. Updates depend on nearby devices detecting the tag; they do not provide continuous GPS tracking.

“I will never forget what you did for LouLou, for Brian, his hiking partner, and for me. Sometimes it takes a mountain to remind you how extraordinary people can be,” Padawer wrote on Facebook.

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