Flora the dog vanished, then was found days later on steep cliff, Oregon officials say

A Chihuahua named Flora had been missing for three days when boaters on an Oregon lake heard whimpering coming from nearby cliffs, officials said.

They called fire officials just before 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 22, and reported that a dog appeared stuck, Sarah Poet, deputy fire marshal of Estacada Rural Fire District, told McClatchy News in an email.

Officials made their way to where Flora was last heard after the boaters left a carabiner on a Cheetos bag as a marker, Poet said.

Firefighters used “rope rescue equipment to ascend down the steep bank” of Estacada Lake to get to Flora, fire officials said in a Facebook post.

“Clackamas County Sheriff’s office assisted on scene with traffic control while fire crew set up scene lighting late into the evening on the Hwy 211 bridge. After 3 hours of trying to retrieve Flora, officials succeeded, ” Poet told McClatchy.

Officials then noticed a missing dog flyer for Flora that her owners had posted around the area and called the phone number attached, Poet said. Flora went back to the station with officials until her owners arrived to pick her up.

Poet told McClatchy that rescuers had food and water ready when they got Flora down from the cliff.

“Her owners were crying when they were reunited,” Poet told McClatchy over the phone.

Flora’s owners, identified by KPTV only as Diane and Robert, told the TV station they were on a road trip to Southern Oregon at the time the 9-year-old dog went missing. They believe she made her escape after they pulled their RV over due to vehicle trouble.

It wasn’t until they were back on the road again that they realized Flora wasn’t in the RV with them, they told KPTV. They turned around to look for their missing pup, and witnesses told Robert that they had seen the missing dog and tried to catch her.

Flora had fallen about 40 feet before she got stuck near the Highway 211 bridge where she was rescued, according to the outlet.

Diane and Robert told KPTV they are grateful for the community’s effort in rescuing Flora.

Estacada is about 30 miles southeast of Portland.

This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Flora the dog vanished, then was found days later on steep cliff, Oregon officials say."