He went into the woods that morning with only one mission: to find his dog, Baxter.

What he didn’t expect was that the search would become a fight to save them both.

Steven Troy Roper, 63, was dropped off by his wife in the Big Eddy area of Tennessee early July 7, 2025.

He had just one goal—to retrace the steps of Baxter, his missing companion. But hours passed. No dog. No phone call. No sign.

His wife began to worry when she got a chilling photo: Steven standing in chest-deep water, drenched and trembling.

He texted her that he had found his dog—but couldn’t get out. Suddenly the search shifted. Now it was about saving a life.

Haywood County deputies launched the rescue.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, the Emergency Management Agency, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol teamed up.

A helicopter joined the hunt. The night stretched long into early July 8 with no answers.

Her husband was missing, the dog was still out there, and time was slipping away.

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Steven’s situation was fragile. He lived with diabetes. He needed regular dialysis. With each hour that ticked by, desperation grew.

What began as a lost-pet case was now a race against survival.

Then, just after 8:30 a.m. on July 8, came the breakthrough. Search teams found them — Steven and Baxter — weak, dehydrated, exhausted but alive.

The man who had gone into the woods chasing a missing dog had become the missing man himself. Both were brought out to safety.

Steven was rushed to the hospital. Baxter? Given a bath and care by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Rescued. Reunited. Relief flooding every heart that had waited through the night.

Stepping back, it’s easy to say this was luck. But luck is rarely the hero in stories like these. The real hero was human will.

The courage of a community that refused to stop searching. The love between a man and his dog that fueled every step.

The urgency of teams coordinating across agencies, into darkness, over rough terrain, under pressure.

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Baxter’s loyalty never faltered. He was lost, yes—but when Steven needed him, he stayed. He didn’t leave his human behind.

Steven’s rescue was incomplete without Baxter. Together, they left the woods. Together, they returned home.

And there’s something powerful in that kind of bond. Something that reminds you: we don’t just walk away from our loved ones. We don’t abandon what’s precious.

Even when the odds are stacked and the night is long, love demands persistence. Even when we falter. Even when we despair.

You can close your eyes and imagine Steven’s relief in that hospital bed. The weight off his shoulders. The first breath of clean air.

The feel of Baxter’s fur under his hand again. The quiet realization: they survived.

If you scroll past a hundred stories today, pause for this one. Because this tale isn’t just about rescue. It’s about devotion.

It’s about how sometimes the lost return not just because they were searched for, but because someone by their side refused to quit.