Man's puzzling disappearance in national park triggers frantic 24-hour search involving K-9

A 70-year-old man disappeared for more than 24 hours, prompting an extensive search that stretched into the evening.

The Oʻahu man was last seen in the Big Island's Volcano area before he was reported missing around 12:16 p.m. on Monday, Oct.

19, according to the Hawaii Police Department.

The man was identified as David Arai, whose son told Hawaii-based news station KHON2 his father was familiar with the area's hiking trails and that he frequently hiked alone.

MISSING 72-YEAR-OLD HIKER FOUND ALIVE DAYS AFTER FRIGHTENING 100-FOOT FALL LEFT HER BADLY INJURED Police believed the man was at risk due to his age and other information gathered during the investigation.

Officers later located Arai's empty rental car inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park , according to the department.

Hawai'i Island police and National Park personnel searched the area on the ground, while a Hawai'i Fire Department helicopter assisted from above.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Hawai'i Police Department and David Arai for comment.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER K9 Trina, a 3-year-old Labrador retriever specially trained to track people by scent, joined the search with her handler, Officer Christopher Ross, police said.

At about 7:30 p.m., Trina located the man on a trail roughly two miles from where his rental car had been found, according to the department.

Ross told KHON2 that Arai was lying on his back in bushes just off the trail when they found him.

Trina approached the man and licked his hand, according to the officer.

"The man was safely carried back to the trailhead and was subsequently transported to Hilo Benioff Medical Center for medical treatment due to dehydration and exposure," the department said in the press release.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES The discovery marked the second time in two months that Trina located a missing person, according to police.