Missing Arkansas hiker found by stranger; family launches GoFundMe to thank her

Ashley Lea Smith is pictured with her dog, Buckey, and Matt Teeters after the missing hiker was found on Arkansas' Eagle Rock Loop. Photo credit: GoFundMe/Family. A missing hiker in Arkansas was found after a stranger took a day off work and joined the search with her dog, prompting his family to launch a GoFundMe campaign to thank the pair. Matt Teeters disappeared on September 23, 2026, while hiking the Eagle Rock Loop in the Ouachita National Forest after becoming separated from his cousin. As search efforts continued overnight, Ashley Lea Smith, a local hiker familiar with the terrain, decided to look for him the following morning. Accompanied by her dog, Buckey, Smith eventually located Teeters near Winding Stair. He was reunited with his family after first responders checked him for injuries. His family later launched an online fundraiser to help pay for repairs and improvements to Smith's home.How a stranger and her dog found the missing hiker in ArkansasTeeters was hiking the Eagle Rock Loop near Albert Pike in Arkansas when he became separated from his cousin, Nick Walker, on September 23. According to local reporting, the pair were approaching Winding Stair, where a relat...