1999: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Tadeo Yanez was found dead Oct. 6 in the San Gabriel Mountains with his loyal dog still standing over him after he apparently took a wrong turn and fell into a diabetic coma while hiking.

After two days, a search and rescue team discovered Yanez’s body, slumped in a remote campground 9 miles north of Chantry Flat. His dog, a husky named Lobo, resisted early efforts to remove the body. Investigators say scratch marks indicate Lobo also tried to revive Yanez, a 26-year-old real estate agent from Commerce.

Yanez’s grieving parents, Ranulfo and Carmen Yanez, begged authorities to retrieve Lobo. So an animal rescue officer captured and tranquilized Lobo and loaded him into a sheriff’s helicopter. The hiker’s father carried the dog in his arms from the helicopter landing pad to his wife, who was waiting at the Chantry Flat ranger station. Lobo now lives with the Los Angeles couple, a living reminder of their son.

Carmen Yanez said Lobo still whines for her son. “Sometimes he’s very sad. He comes on our bed,” she said. “He is our best friend.”