For nearly three months, a 4-year-old collie mix named Rogue managed to outsmart a small army of volunteers determined to bring her home.
She traveled miles through Montana's Flathead Valley, wandered through forests and neighborhoods, visited mountain watering holes and even helped herself to the remains of geese left behind by a hunter.
She was spotted on driveway security cameras, caught on trail cameras and tracked by people who spent countless hours searching for her.
But nobody could catch her.
On Halloween, Rogue's remarkable 84-day adventure finally came to an end, thanks to a humane live trap, some strategically placed food and a community that refused to give up on her.
And on Tuesday, a dog that had spent nearly three months running from people officially found her forever home with the one person she had come to trust the most: Her trainer at the Flathead County Animal Shelter.
"It was tears of joy," said Bonnie Hodges, a Whitefish, Montana, resident who helped organize the search. "A whole group of people had focused on her."
For Casey Corbett, a volunteer at the shelter who led much of the search, Rogue's adoption was the perfect ending to a story that began with a terrified dog running for her life.
"She now gets to live out the rest of her years with the person she has come to trust and love the most," Corbett told Cowboy State Daily. "We are so happy for her."
Gone Before She Got Home
Rogue's adventure began Aug. 8, when a Whitefish woman in her 70s adopted her from the Flathead County Animal Shelter.
Rogue and her sister, Anna, arrived at the shelter together. Both were skittish, and both appeared to have given birth to multiple litters of puppies.
They were placed up for adoption separately.
But Rogue's new life took an unexpected turn before she even made it through her new owner's front door.
As the woman pulled into her driveway with Rogue in her vehicle, the frightened dog panicked, jerked away and bolted.
She disappeared with her harness still attached and her leash dragging behind her.
"That was the beginning of the adventure of Rogue," Hodges told Cowboy State Daily.
A search team began looking for Rogue that night, and word quickly spread through the Whitefish community.
Neighbors reported sightings, reassuring searchers that the dog was still in the area.
But getting close enough to catch her was another matter.
The woman who adopted Rogue reached out through a mutual friend to Hodges, an experienced animal rescuer who had a humane dog trap.
Hodges immediately joined the effort.
Despite recovering from a broken neck suffered in a car accident and wearing a neck brace, she threw herself into the search.
She contacted Julie Engler, a reporter with the Whitefish Pilot, and placed a newspaper advertisement with two prominent words: "Missing Rogue."
She also offered a $300 reward for information leading to Rogue's safe capture.
But Rogue had other ideas.
For 84 days, a 4-year-old collie mix outsmarted a small army of volunteers determined to bring her home. On Tuesday, a dog that spent nearly three months running from people found her forever home with the one person she had come to trust the most. (Courtesy) 
For 84 days, a 4-year-old collie mix outsmarted a small army of volunteers determined to bring her home. On Tuesday, a dog that spent nearly three months running from people found her forever home with the one person she had come to trust the most. (Courtesy) 
For 84 days, a 4-year-old collie mix outsmarted a small army of volunteers determined to bring her home. On Tuesday, a dog that spent nearly three months running from people found her forever home with the one person she had come to trust the most. (Courtesy)
A Mind Of Her Own
As the days turned into weeks, Rogue proved herself to be an exceptionally resourceful fugitive.
People spotted her wandering through neighborhoods, sometimes with her leash still dragging behind her.
Others captured glimpses of her on security cameras.
But whenever someone tried to approach, Rogue disappeared.
Corbett created a Facebook page called "Find Rogue," hoping to enlist more people in the search.
Before long, the effort had grown into a community-wide mission.
One man living on Lion Mountain near Whitefish had a trail camera and a water trough on his property. Rogue appeared twice on the camera, apparently stopping for a drink.
Searchers placed a trap in the area and began making regular trips up the mountain.
They also tried something more personal.
Corbett had begun fostering Rogue's sister, Anna, and sometimes brought her along on searches, hoping the familiar scent of her sibling might draw Rogue out of hiding.
When Anna was brushed, volunteers collected her fur in plastic bags and placed it around the trap.
They even put a shirt belonging to Rogue's favorite trainer at the animal shelter inside, hoping the familiar smell would encourage her to enter.
Nothing worked.
Thermal Drones
At one point, searchers hired a company that operated thermal drones, hoping to locate Rogue from above.
But it was August, and wildfire smoke complicated the effort.
Meanwhile, Rogue continued to expand her territory.
Hodges and her daughter began keeping detailed records of sightings, trying to understand the dog's movements.
They discovered Rogue had established something resembling a routine. She traveled through town in the early morning hours, disappeared into wooded areas and returned along different routes.
She also appeared to know where to find water, visiting mountain lakes and ponds on golf courses.
"She was creative, smart and independent," Hodges said.
Every new sighting raised another question.
"It was kind of like a little surprise," Hodges said. "Where is she going now and why? It was always a question mark of what was next."
For 84 days, a 4-year-old collie mix outsmarted a small army of volunteers determined to bring her home. On Tuesday, a dog that spent nearly three months running from people found her forever home with the one person she had come to trust the most. (Courtesy) 
For 84 days, a 4-year-old collie mix outsmarted a small army of volunteers determined to bring her home. On Tuesday, a dog that spent nearly three months running from people found her forever home with the one person she had come to trust the most. (Courtesy)
Twenty Miles Away
For about 50 days, searchers concentrated their efforts around Whitefish.
Then a security camera captured Rogue in the Columbia Falls area, roughly 20 miles from where the search had begun.
"It blew us away that she made it that far," Corbett said.
The search team had to rethink its strategy.
Hodges wondered whether Rogue might be trying to return to the place she had lived before entering the shelter. Her former owners lived in Hungry Horse, a small community about 16 miles east of Whitefish.
Hodges said she contacted them and learned more about Rogue's past.
She learned that Rogue and Anna had been raised without collars or leashes. Rogue was accustomed to roaming and foraging in the woods, Hodges said.
By now, summer was fading, temperatures were dropping and another Montana winter was approaching. Rogue might have been resourceful, but nobody knew how long her luck would last.
"Winter is coming. Weather is changing. She's been out there long enough," Hodges recalled thinking.
The reward was increased from $300 to $1,000. And the search continued.
Secret Weapon: Rotisserie Chicken
Hodges has spent decades rescuing animals, beginning more than 20 years ago when she and a friend organized efforts to trap feral cats for spaying and neutering.
Over the years, she has helped capture everything from frightened dogs to a potbellied pig wandering loose in the woods.
The pig, believed to have been abandoned, was eventually captured in a humane trap and named Huckleberry by the person who found and kept it, Hodges told Cowboy State Daily.
Hodges also helped search for a Great Pyrenees that had been missing for nearly four months during the winter.
Another memorable rescue involved a dog named Katie, who escaped from a Kalispell hotel while her owners were visiting from Spokane.
Katie remained on the run for 57 days, traveling within a roughly mile-wide area while volunteers tried to catch her.
Even Kalispell's mayor publicly recognized the community's efforts.
Eventually, Katie was spotted in some bushes near a cul-de-sac. Her owner rushed to the area, sat quietly on the ground and waited. Katie emerged from the bushes and went to her.
In that search, Hodges learned an important, if not unusual lesson: When all else fails, try rotisserie chicken.
Ready-Made Buffet
For Rogue, though, even that wasn't an immediate solution.
The volunteers continued baiting traps and monitoring cameras, hoping the right combination of food, familiar smells and timing would finally work.
Then came a promising lead.
A man who had been goose hunting reported seeing Rogue near a spot where he had cleaned his birds.
Apparently, the resourceful dog had discovered a ready-made buffet.
Searchers moved their trap to the area and continued their routine of checking cameras, bringing Anna along and replenishing the bait.
For a while, the food remained untouched.
Then, for a couple of days, it began disappearing.
The trail cameras didn't reveal what was eating it.
But on Halloween, someone checking the trap discovered that the mystery diner had finally been caught.
It was Rogue.
Home At Last
Corbett and his wife hurried to retrieve the dog who had occupied so much of their time and attention for nearly three months.
What they found surprised them.
Rogue wasn't injured, emaciated or even particularly worse for wear.
In fact, she had gained three pounds.
"Wherever she was going, she was figuring it out," Corbett said.
The dog who had evaded volunteers, traveled through forests and survived on her own for 84 days was finally headed back to the Flathead County Animal Shelter.
There, staff gave her a bath and evaluated her behavior.
They weren't sure whether nearly three months on her own had changed her or whether she had developed habits that would make her difficult to place in another home.
But Rogue seemed remarkably calm.
Corbett said he believes she had simply become trapped in a state of fear after her initial escape, running whenever anyone approached.
Back at the shelter, surrounded by familiar people and routines, that fear began to subside.
Meanwhile, the woman who had originally adopted Rogue had come to a difficult realization. Although she still wanted the dog, she recognized that Rogue might be better suited to someone else, Corbett said.
And as it turned out, Rogue already had someone special waiting for her.
A Forever Home
During her time at the shelter, Rogue had formed a strong attachment to one of the trainers.
"She is just infatuated with him," he said.
The trainer took Rogue home as a foster dog while he worked through the details of possibly adopting her.
For the volunteers who had spent weeks trying to bring Rogue to safety, the arrangement seemed almost too good to be true.
After all, Rogue spent nearly three months running from strangers. Now she could spend the rest of her life with someone she already loved and trusted.
"That would be the perfect thing," Corbett said.
On Tuesday, Rogue's trainer officially adopted her.
Corbett and his wife officially adopted Anna, Rogue's sister, who played her own part in the search.
She goes on walks every day and has formed a close friendship with the couple's other dog.
For Hodges, the rescue was another reminder of what can happen when a community rallies around an animal in need.
People offered trail cameras, shared sightings, suggested strategies, donated time and searched through wooded areas.
Some never met Rogue at all.
Corbett said he has received plenty of credit for the rescue because of the many hours he spent looking for her. But he insists the outcome belonged to everyone.
"It was amazing to see how many people came together and played a role in catching her," he said.
As for Rogue, her days of wandering through Montana's forests, dodging cameras and outsmarting rescuers are finally over.
"She's ready to go," Corbett said. "She's done her exploring."
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
