Sadie, a black Labrador-mix, disappeared after running away during a visit in San Diego.

A black Labrador-mix who escaped from a home in San Diego was rescued from the sea after the dog's owner tracked her down using an AirTag on her collar.

The rescue operation for Sadie, a 5-year-old black lab-mix, was launched after she went missing from the home her family was staying at during a football game on Nov. 23.

While her owners were able to track her nearly two miles away to Ocean Beach using the AirTag, as they "set off down the coast to find her," surfers alerted lifeguards to "a dog that had been swept into the rip current near the jetty," the San Diego Fire Department said in a video posted on Facebook.

"Lifeguard units and a U.S. Coast Guard small boat searched the area after the dog disappeared into the channel," the fire department said.

An "extensive search" with jet skis lasted almost an hour, but Sadie was not spotted. However, just as lifeguards began "making their way back in," a "miracle happened" and the dog was spotted about a half-mile offshore near South Mission Beach.

Authorities said lifeguards rushed out to get her, "transferring the frightened pup to a surf boat crew" that brought her back to the shore, "where she was reunited with her very relieved owners" in an emotional reunion.

'We just really wanted a happy ending,' lifeguards say

Lifeguard Garrett Smerdon, who assisted in the rescue, said emergency responders were determined to locate and save Sadie.

"We kind of huddled up and said that, you know, there's a good chance that Sadie was still alive," Smerdon said in the fire department's video. "Just a 5-year-old lab. They're fighters."

Lifeguard Jack Alldredge, who saw Sadie in the water, said they "just really wanted a happy ending" and were glad the dog was rescued safely.

"We just really wanted a happy ending, and we're glad that Sadie got to go back home and, you know, survive this pretty traumatic event," Alldredge said in the video.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch miracle rescue of Labrador-mix who escaped from San Diego home

Reporting by Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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