Loyal Dog Named Kentucky Helps Searchers Find Dead NJ Hiker Bjoern Waalberg

By AP/Hayley Hudson

Authorities credit a Labrador retriever named Kentucky with helping locate the body of its owner, who died hiking in a nature preserve in northern New Jersey.

The AP reported:

West Milford police tell The Associated Press that a search team saw the dog's eyes reflecting off headlamps during its search late Saturday of the heavily wooded and hilly Apshawa (AP'-shuh-wuh) Preserve.

Nearby, the team found the body of 51-year-old Bjoern Waalberg, who had apparently died hours earlier.

Police say Waalberg and his dog set out for the hike mid-afternoon Saturday. The man's wife alerted authorities just after 7 p.m. when he did not return.

Waalberg's wife had asked officers to check the parking area at the site for her husband's vehicle, Lt. John Matarese of the West Milford Police Department told Triboro Patch.

Shortly after, a volunteer search and rescue team found the Labrador retriever, which the wife said was Waalberg's only companion on the hike.

"The dog was located and the dog actually led the officers to the victim," Matarese said.

In December, video captured a dog guarding the body of its owner, who had fainted while crossing a busy street in China. Another loyal dog, Ciccio, reportedly attends mass every day at the Italian church that held its owner's funeral.