Dog finds hiker trapped for days

RIVERSIDE, Calif., March 26 (UPI) -- A dog found a severely dehydrated hiker who had been trapped between rocks on California's Mount Rubidoux for days without food or water, the dog's owner said.

Ramon Llamas, of Riverside, Calif., said he and his 1-year-old dog, Mole, hike the mountain three to four times a week, but Monday morning Mole found something unusual.

"He likes to go look in the rocks and he kind of pulled me over, pulling and crying and I said, 'What's going on boy?' " Llamas said.

There Llamas said he found the hiker, whose name was reported only as Paul, about 100 feet from the main trail and trapped and hidden by rocks.

"He said, 'I need water, please don't leave me.' So I gave him water from my backpack and in a minute he said, 'You got more?' So I give more water," Llamas said.

Paul told Llamas he had been trapped there for four to six days, though he wasn't sure.

The Riverside Fire Department's Technical Rescue Team pulled Paul safely from the rocks and transferred him to Riverside Community Hospital where he was recovering, KABC-TV, Los Angeles, reported Monday.

A hospital official said the hiker wanted to thank Llamas and Mole for finding him.