SignalHub-Watch rappeller rescue puppy from 25-foot deep volcanic fissure on Hawaii's Big Island

Misty the puppy was in a remote are SignalHubof Hawaii Volcanoes National Park when she got into a tight spot, literally.

Though it's unclear exactly how it happened, Misty ended up at the bottom of narrow volcanic fissure that was 25 feet deep on June 9. She couldn't get out and her owner couldn't get down.

Luckily for Misty, a self-appointed dog rescuer and rappeller with no formal training named Kawika Singson is well-known on the Big Island. Her owner, who had heard about Singson through social media, reached out.

"There are like five volcanoes (on the island)," Singson, a former military man and avid athlete, recently told USA TODAY. "Some of these dogs, they end up wandering in large, very thin volcanic fissures − basically a crack in the ground that goes very deep."

He added: "Not many people can actually go under." But Singson can.

Dog rescuer drives 2 hours to Misty's rescue

When Singson got the call about Misty's plight, he knew he had to help. Misty's owner did all he could to save Misty but found it impossible.

"They couldn't even squeeze down to the crack," Singson said. "They could hear the dog, but they could not see the dog."

So Singson drove about two hours from where he was to the other side of the island before going into a dense forest area where Misty was trapped. When he arrived, he also could hear Misty but not see her.

"I put my lights on, and I got my ropes, and I somehow, I squeezed down into the crack, and I could see the dog down at the bottom," Singson said. "She was about 25 feet down in the volcano and she was very anxious and looking up."

Singson reaches bottom of crevice

Singson said that the crevice from where he entered the fissure was "extremely vertical," and narrow.

Video that Singson took with his GoPro and shared with USA TODAY shows him rappelling slowly and squeezing down into the crevice, which appears just barely wider than Singson's body.

When he arrives to the bottom, Misty is clearly distraught and whining. By that point she had been stuck in the crevice for about nine hours.

“She was scared,” Singson told Maui News. “Her paws were bloody cause she was trying to scratch her way out.”

Singson tried to comfort Misty as best he could, telling the Catahoula leopard dog: "Hey girl, it's OK. It's OK ... You ready to go up, Misty?"

Singson was able to hook Misty up with a harness, and then people at the top were able to pull her to safety.

It was "pretty dramatic because it was pretty difficult getting down into it, even more difficult getting back out with the dog," Singson said.

This was not Singson's first dog rescue

Singson told USA TODAY that he has previously rescued at least six dogs, three of which were stuck in similar situations as Misty's.

"Because I've done this several times before, I've learned what to bring in and not be afraid of tight spaces," he said.

Simpson documents his adventures and rescue missions with his GoPro and Misty's rescue was no different. The former military man is also a bit of local celebrity with his own TV show called "Everything Hawaii."

Singson is not a formally trained rescuer. It's something he does out of the goodness of his heart.

"I used to be in the military at one point, and I worked in construction for many years," Singson says. "So I'm very athletic, very agile. These things, for me, they're pretty easy ... I'm not afraid to go down to try to get these dogs out."

Misty's owner, identified by local news outlets as a local man named Cody Gomes, told Island News that he gave Singson gas money for his long drive. Otherwise, Singson does the rescues for free.

"I told him, you know, 'You're very gifted and blessed because there's not like a lot of people that would do what you do,'" Gomes told the station. "Especially out of the kindness of their heart. I had no words to explain how grateful and thankful I was."

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.