Coonhound stayed with missing college student

LA PORTE CITY, Iowa (AP) - When a missing community college student trekked through the wilds near the Cedar Valley Nature Trail barefoot, he had a companion at his side.

Meandering through the woods with Taylor Lee Franco, 19, of Davenport, was Annie, a 10-year-old redbone coonhound.

Authorities suspect a medical condition was in play when a confused Franco walked into a rural La Porte City home and took off his shoes before sunrise Sunday. He headed out into the wilderness when confronted by the residents.

Annie lived at the home, and when Franco left, she followed.

"She loves kids and stuff, and she felt obligated to stay with him," said Annie's owner, Daniel Bland. "She usually stays pretty close. She's followed bikers on the bike trail and let them pet her if it's a kid."

Bland suspects before the student entered the house, he was hanging out in the yard. He rode around on his son's bike and apparently befriended Annie.

"I think he was out most of the night playing with her," Bland said.

After leaving the house --- located off of La Porte Road north of the city near the Cedar Valley Trail and the Klima Wildlife Area --- the student headed east to the Cedar River and then followed it south to Wolf Creek before turning north.

All the while, searchers from local police and fire agencies tried to track him. At one point, a searcher saw Annie but soon lost sight of her.

Bland said he wasn't too worried about Annie, figuring she would find her way back. She had a collar with the family's contact information, but he later learned the student had removed it at some point during the journey.

A passing bike rider, Joel Bishop, said he first noticed the coonhound when he approached the bike path gazebo south of Weiden Road at about 9 a.m. Monday. He then saw the student and went for help.

"Police said she was still walking step for step with him," Bland said.

The student, whose feet were only covered in socks, was loaded into an ambulance, and the Blands showed up a short time later to retrieve Annie.

"She was sore when she got back. She could hardly walk, but she's better today," Bland said.

He said he has no hard feelings over the student's unannounced visit Sunday, noting he didn't take anything and wasn't threatening.

"I think it's a young kid with some problems, and if the dog was able to help him, it's a good thing," Bland said.