
Story updated at 4:46 p.m. after Kimberly Haines was safely airlifted.
King County Search and Rescue crews rescued a Maplewood Elementary teacher who got lost while hiking in the North Bend area.
Kimberly Haines was first reported missing Monday night after she failed to return home from a hike she left for that day. After four days in the woods, she and her dog Rainey were located by rescue crews and airlifted off the mountain.
She was taken to Swedish Hospital in Issaquah, and her dog was taken to a nearby veterinarian to be checked out. Both had suffered some minor scrapes, but appeared okay, according to King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. B.J. Myers.
Crews first made voice contact with Haines around 1:45 on Thursday. About an hour and a half later, helicopter crews had lifted her and her dog off of the mountain to a waiting ambulance.
Myers said she was found near a water source. Crews initially located her based on GPS coordinates they were able to get off of her phone. After hiking all morning, they were able to make voice contact.
Two rescuers were also airlifted from the area after Haines and her dog were safe.
Several dozen additional rescuers are also making their way off of the mountain, Myers said. Some were on foot, some had dogs, others were on horses and some had all-terrain vehicles, he said.
Haines teaches fifth grade at Maplewood Parent Cooperative School in Edmonds and also was a former teacher at Edmonds Elementary.
Haines – described as a fit marathon runner – had not been to the mountain before and likely became lost.
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