ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Micki Honkanen, who also goes by her trail name “Bright Eyes,” needs your help finding her dog and best friend, Sadie, who went missing along the Appalachian Trail.
Honkanen came from Canada with Sadie to hike three long trails in the United States: The Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, and the Appalachian Trail. Her goal was to become a triple crowner.
“When all three of those have been completed, you’re considered to have what they call a triple crown,” she explained.
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She lost her 13-year-old lab mix last month while hiking the Appalachian Trail between Walnut Mountain Shelter and Lemon Gap.
“I started running up and down the trail, calling her name, running up and down the trail calling the name,” she said. “I called my friend, and the two of us together spent 40-plus hours just incrementally grid searching the woods of the entire mountain. We hired a thermal drone to search that mountain, as well. The drone worked for eight hours and we weren’t able to find her.”
Sadie is described as 45-pound lab mix with white patches and gray on her face. She was last seen wearing what was described as a green backpack.
Honkanen added that Sadie has an ID on her collar and she is chipped and wearing an air tag.
Honkanen will need to leave the United States by June due to travel restrictions. She is offering a cash reward to anyone who finds Sadie.
As she continues her search for Sadie, Honkanen said she will consider finishing the last miles of the Appalachian Trail.
“I’m very close to finishing the Appalachian Trail. I’ve started it over the winter, and I’ve been hiking Southbound, so I’m about 250 miles from the end,” she said. “The thought of like leaving the country and just leaving her in the woods is just, I can’t wrap my head around it right now.”