The search for Sarabi, the Iditarod sled dog that went missing over a month ago, has moved 100 miles north of Anchorage.
The cadre of volunteers looking for Sarabi, a member of Iditarod finisher Laura Allaway's team, are focusing their efforts around Mile 100 of the Glenn Highway near the Glacier View area after a resident took a photo of the dog resting in her yard April 10.
"Like, how the heck did she get out there?" said Allaway, who drove to Anchorage from her Fairbanks home last week to help search for the dog.
"I knew she was an amazing dog, but I didn't know she was that amazing," Allaway said Friday, noting that while the dog looked skinny, she appeared to be in good health overall.
Sarabi, a 3-year-old tan and brown husky, went missing March 21 after she ran away from handlers watching the dropped dog in South Anchorage. Volunteers have spent weeks searching for her.
The photo has renewed hope for Allaway, who wasn't sure if her dog was still alive after weeks with no confirmed sightings.
Allaway said there was another sighting of Sarabi the morning after the April 10 photo was taken, when her friends went out to check a trap that had been set for the dog. Her friends saw Sarabi curled up about 3 feet from the trap. As they tried to approach the dog, Sarabi "bolted" at hearing their voices. Allaway believes it's likely Sarabi has reverted to a "primal" state of survival.
"Which is obviously working," she said.
Allaway has no idea what might have led the dog so far out of Anchorage. Sarabi once ran the Copper Basin 300 in Glennallen, and Allaway speculated the dog might have some notion of where those trails are.
"What is motivating her to go that far? I have no idea," she said.
Since the Saturday spotting, there have been no other confirmed sightings in the area, though searchers aren't giving up. Allaway said a musher living near Mile 100 of the Glenn reported dog food missing and their dogs getting riled up late at night, as if another dog might be visiting the kennel. Searchers plan to set another trap in the area this weekend.
Allaway said while the search for Sarabi in Anchorage is over, she asked that people not take down signs in Anchorage just yet.
"I'm not convinced she wouldn't make it back (to Anchorage,)" she said.
Allaway said other lost dogs have been rescued during the search, and it has raised awareness of missing dogs in the city.
Allaway encouraged people to watch for the dog if traveling along the Glenn Highway. She asked that people take pictures for searchers to confirm. She encouraged people with sightings to call or text her at 907-590-7781.
"I really hope people keep their eye out when driving the Glenn Highway," she said. "I don't want them to hit my girl."