Gene Hackman’s dogs played a key role in helping first responders locate his body, according to People.
Late last month, the actor, alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa and dog, Kinna, were found dead in their New Mexico home. Rumors swirled around how the three died in a seemingly unusual manner, with two of Hackman’s children initially suspecting a carbon monoxide leak.
But as the investigation unraveled, their final days were not what any would have expected: Arakawa, 65, died of a rare rodent disease known as hantavirus, a week before her husband, 95-year-old Hackman. The actor’s pacemaker stopped on Feb. 18, when authorities believe he died of heart disease alongside Alzheimer’s.
Their 12-year-old Australian-Kelpie mix, Zinna—named after Hackman’s favorite wine variety, Zinfandel—died while locked in a crate. The couple’s other two dogs, Bear and Nikita, were still alive and helped investigators ultimately find Hackman, Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya said, according to USA Today.
When emergency officials arrived at the home, they pushed the front door open and found Arakawa lying on the bathroom floor. After they discovered her, they began to scan the house—but after 30 minutes, they still had not discovered Hackman.
The two dogs, however, kept going up to them, barking, then running away. What investigators first thought was the pair looking to play turned out to be their way of trying to show them something.
“They realized (the dog) was trying to say, ‘Hey, come over here! Come over here!’” Moya said.
The dogs led the officials to the mudroom, where Hackman was found dead on the floor. The back door had been left open, allowing the animals to go in and out of the house. Bear and Nikita were eventually brought to a pet day-care after their owners were found.
Arakawa was reportedly an “excellent dog owner, excellent caretaker” to the dogs, according to her vet.
It is unclear what Hackman did during his final week by himself as Arakawa was dead in the bathroom. No food in his stomach but still hydrated, investigators clarified that he was in a “very poor state of health.”
“It’s hard to get into the frame of mind of what was happening at the time,” Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza said.
