Missing New York Dog Rescued After Running from Manhattan To Queens, Dodging Cars in Tunnel

Thanks to local police officers and helpful bystanders, a New York City dog named Indie has returned home after going missing earlier this month. Indie's harrowing adventure took her through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, narrowly dodging oncoming traffic along the way, and left her stranded in a warehouse for a week before her rescue.

Indie's owner Heather Angus tells Daily Paws that the precocious pooch was a street dog in India who Angus adopted during the pandemic. When Indie went missing June 15, she got away from her dog walker while out and about in Angus' Upper East Side neighborhood.

ABC 7 reports that Sgt. Orlando Caholo responded to multiple 911 calls about a dog running loose in the tunnel, so he stopped traffic in an attempt to catch the missing pup. Authorities were unable to catch Indie, who escaped through the Queens side of the tunnel, but their view of the speedy pup helped them match her identity to a social media post Angus made about her missing pooch.

It wasn't until seven days later that a worker found Indie in a Long Island City warehouse and finally returned home her to Angus. She says since making it home, Indie is more timid when walking in the streets, but with the help of a trainer she's hoping they can overcome Indie's anxiety. Angus also hopes that Indie's story will help spur changes to the way missing and lost animal cases are handled by the city.

"Life has been great since the reunion," Angus says. "I had a happy ending, but I am empathetic to others who have lost their loved animals."

Indie's dangerous trek took her through the entirety of the vehicular tunnel, which runs underneath the East River and connects Manhattan to Queens, and then on to Long Island City. The dog's impressive journey spanned a total of around three miles—or an hour of walking time for the average person.

"I would tell everyone to please put a GPS collar on their loved animals," Angus says. "You never know what can happen."

Despite her dangerous journey, we're glad Indie and Angus are finally reunited—and we're grateful for the New Yorkers who banded together to help her make it home safely.