HANCOCK COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — A dog named “Killer” was at the center of a three-hour, multiagency animal rescue from a 30-foot sinkhole on Saturday in Hancock County, according to the Hawkins County Rescue Squad.

The rescue squad’s Multi-Jurisdictional Rope Rescue Team was requested to assist with a dog that had fallen down a deep sinkhole around 2 p.m. on Horton Ford Road in Kyles Ford in Hancock County. Team members from the Goshen Valley Volunteer Fire Department also responded to the scene.

Hawkins Rescue said on Sunday that a team member was lowered into the approximate 30-foot vertical sinkhole and made contact with Killer, who was very excited to see him. The other team members who were above ground were able to successfully bring both the rescuer and Killer out of the sinkhole to safe ground.

Killer was reunited with his owners unharmed. The rescue efforts took around three hours to complete.

The Multi-Jurisdictional Rope Rescue Team was created in 2019 and is governed by Hawkins County Rescue Squad. The team is a necessary asset due to the surrounding areas that have both natural formations and manmade structures that would require rope rescue operations to access persons – or pets – that become trapped. The team is currently made up of members from Hawkins County Rescue Squad, Hancock County Rescue Squad, Goshen Valley Volunteer Fire Department, and Mount Carmel Fire Department. Membership to the team is open to any member that belongs to a public safety agency in Hawkins or Hancock Counites. 

The circumstances surrounding the incident – how Killer fell into the sinkhole and if there’s a continued risk for additional issues, were not yet available. WATE 6 On Your Side is working to learn more.