LATEST: Nala was reunited with her owners, Joey Beltran and Kelsey Petit, Tuesday after she was found in Primm Tuesday morning.
Last week, the Golden Retriever was separated from her owner Beltran during a crash on Interstate 15 near Primm. During that rollover crash, Nala jumped out the car window and took off into the desert.
The two were headed to California to say their goodbyes to Beltran's mom, who died a day later from cancer.
As Beltran grieved, he and a team of volunteers searched for Nala.
"Just random people that took the time to come out and help it means the world to me," Beltran said.
After close to a week of searching for Nala, the dog jumped in an unknown woman's car Tuesday morning near Whiskey Pete's in Primm and a short time later she was back with family.
"She just ran up to me and it was the best feeling ever," Petit said.
Petit was the first to receive the call, she said. She couldn't wait to share the good news with Beltran, who was reunited with Nala as she left the veterinarian's office with a clean bill of health.
"It wasn't a family without Nala," Beltran said.
Beltran said being reunited with Nala has made what is possibly the most difficult time in his life a bit easier.
UPDATE: As of August 22, Nala still has not been found.
Many people have helped the Beltran family search for the golden retriever, including a drone company and a helicopter company.
ORIGINAL STORY
PRIMM (KTNV) -- They say bad things happen in threes and that is absolutely the case for one young valley man. His mother died, he got in a car crash, and now, his beloved golden retriever is missing in the desert.
Joey Beltran’s mother had bone cancer. He got the call Wednesday afternoon that she probably wouldn’t make it through the night.
That’s when Beltran hopped in the car with his 11-month-old golden retriever, Nala, to head to Victorville, California to say his goodbyes.
As Beltran was passing through Primm, he was in a rollover crash.
“My tire hit the asphalt of the street and basically my car slid and I jerked it back around and then my car flipped,” he said.
His SUV rolled four times.
“I hit so hard that both the back windows shattered and somehow, while we were rolling, my dog jumped out through the window.”
Beltran got out of the vehicle and watched Nala hop over the fence and into the desert toward the solar panels.
“Six or seven cars pulled over to help me and I just kept yelling at them, I was like forget about me! Someone please go get my dog!”
Beltran says he watched her run for about a minute and a half until he could no longer see her. He says Nala looked back periodically as she ran.
Beltran stayed out in the desert looking for Nala until 10 p.m. He got a call at 5 a.m. Thursday morning, his mom passed away.
“She wasn’t supposed to go this fast,” said Beltran of his deceased mother. “I have a baby coming and all she wanted to do was meet her grandchild.”
Full of grief and sadness, he continued his search for Nala. As of Thursday night, he still had not found his 11-month-old Golden Retriever. But he will not give up hope.
“I do believe that she will come back,” he said. She’s just scared and thirsty. She’s a puppy so she is adventurous and she’s curious.”
If you have seen Nala, please call 808-590-4526.
