PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An 82-year-old woman who went missing in the woods in Lane County was found alive earlier this week, thanks in part to her canine companion, authorities said.
The Lane County Sheriff’s Office announced just before 8 p.m. on Monday that search and rescue first-responders were trying to locate Karen Joyce Davis, of Elmira, after she was reported missing.
An 82-year-old woman who went missing in the woods was found alive, thanks in part to her dog keeping her warm, deputies say. December 29, 2026 (courtesy Lane County Sheriff’s Office). 
An 82-year-old woman who went missing in the woods was found alive, thanks in part to her dog keeping her warm, deputies say. December 29, 2026 (courtesy Lane County Sheriff’s Office). 
An 82-year-old woman who went missing in the woods was found alive, thanks in part to her dog keeping her warm, deputies say. December 29, 2026 (courtesy Lane County Sheriff’s Office).
The woman had last been seen walking away from the 23700 block of Warthen Road with her blue heeler cattle dog named Cami, who was known to stay with Davis in case she had a fall.
After a search and rescue effort by the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, volunteers, and the Lane Fire Authority, Davis was located later that same night. Just an hour and a half after the sheriff’s office’s initial Facebook post asking for help locating the woman, deputies announced she was located alive in the area.
“Davis was found late on December 29th in rough terrain past the dead end of a forested road in the area,” the Lane County Sheriff’s Office said. “Her dog, Cami, kept her warm and signaled to Lane County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue volunteers as they searched the area.”
After she was located, search and rescue volunteers provided medical care for hypothermia, then carried her to a waiting ambulance, where she was taken to a hospital.