The body of Deborah Fisher, 52, of Joseph was found Wednesday, July 9, in the Dobbin irrigation system just north of Joseph, according to Wallowa County Sheriff Fred Steen.

Fisher, along with her 13-year-old Australian shepherd dog, Hannah, was reported missing by her husband, Rick, at approximately 1 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

Sheriff’s deputies immediately responded to the Joseph City Park area where Fisher was last seen. They were soon joined by other members of the search and rescue team, the local fish and wildlife agent and members of the public.

While expanding their search, authorities received information from the parents of two young boys who had been fishing near the west McCully Street Bridge. The boys said they thought they saw a woman float by them while they were fishing, Steen said. The description of the clothing given by the young fishermen matched that of the missing woman.

Ditchmaster Ben Tippett immediately lowered the water in the Dobbin ditch system and authorities discovered the body shortly thereafter.

The incident is still under investigation according to Steen, and the medical examiner is expected to make a report soon. “We’re leaning toward accidental death,” he said. “The dog is still missing.”

Tippett said that the ditch in which Fisher was eventually found was fairly small and the water not too swift, “but the water was high and (investigators) couldn’t have seen her in there before I lowered the water.”

One scenario of how the accident may have occurred, which authorities have discussed, is that the dog, which had both sight and medical problems, may have fallen in the ditch further upstream and Fisher, attempting to retrieve him, got caught in the deeper, swift-moving water.

“Hannah drowned too, I’m sure,” said Rick Fisher. “But I still hope that those who live along that ditch keep an eye out for her. I sure would like to find her. It would really help.

“Those two were inseperable … down to the last, it seems.”