FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP -- Yuri Sannikov's family calls his death tragic, but they also believe his death at Ricketts Glen State Park was symbolic—he had a passion for the outdoors.
“This is one of the things he really liked to do, is go hiking, go out in nature and this was a special place,” said his son, Roman.
In fact, Newswatch 16 did a story about Sannikov just a few years ago working at Montage Mountain and enjoying being out in the cold.
“When I'm working, I'm mostly standing outside. People are surprised I'm standing there, but for me, it's really nothing serious. Because I'm born in Siberia. I'm just used to winters,” he told us in February 2014.
The family believes the 74 year old from Scranton fell Monday evening after trying to stop his beagle Morty from slipping out of his harness. Sannikov's two sons didn't plan to spend their day looking for their dad's dog, but their dad was a special guy and Morty is a special dog.
“He's somebody who my father just adored, so we're trying our best to make sure that he's OK,” his son said.
So the family went to the state park, posting flyers and even bringing in Bonnie Snyder of Bellabon's Pet Recovery Services.
“We will find him, I have no doubt. Actually, we tracked one down in the winter time,” she said.
Shortly before the family arrived to look for Morty, people in this parking lot say they saw him, but he ran away in the woods.
“The dog ran that way, and we noticed its back leg was hurt,” said a woman from New Jersey. She and others helped in the search and they're not giving up.
