HUNTINGTON BEACH (CNS) - Searchers combing the Bristlecone Pine Forest in Inyo County for a missing 60-year-old Huntington Beach woman found a dog today matching the description of the canine the woman was walking when she disappeared at the Grandview Campground.
According to the Inyo County Sheriff's Office, the dog is alive and was found about 2.5 miles from Sheryl Powell's last known location.
Powell was reported missing by her husband at about 2 p.m. Friday, Inyo County sheriff's officials said.
Powell's husband told deputies they had just arrived at a campsite and she took their 5-pound, black-and-white dog for a walk while he was parking their Jeep. When he got out of the vehicle, she was nowhere to be found, officials said.
Powell's husband told deputies he searched for almost an hour before contacting authorities, officials said.
A California Highway Patrol helicopter with a thermal imaging device flew over the area and the Inyo sheriff and Search and Rescue began searching immediately, sheriff's officials said.
The air and ground search continued over the weekend, officials said.
Powell is an experienced hiker, 5 feet 3 inches tall, 120 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes and she may have been wearing a purple top.
Anyone with information on Powell's whereabouts was asked to call the Inyo County Sheriff's Office at 760-878-0383.
Photo: Inyo County Sheriff's Office