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Associated Press — <\/span>A dog escaped from a rest stop along the New Jersey Turnpike and wandered for about 25 miles (40 kilometers) before she was found safe the next day with help from a drone.<\/p>\n Abbie, a 9-year-old golden retriever mix, was travelling from a South Carolina shelter to a planned new home in Maine. She was one of several dogs in a van that had stopped at a service area in East Brunswick around 6 a.m. Saturday, according to the shelter, Final Victory Animal Rescue. <\/p>\n The dogs’ handlers were letting them take a bathroom break when Abbie ran off.<\/p>\n Abbie was equipped with a tracking tag to show her general location, and volunteers with the New Jersey-based Unmanned Search and Rescue drone team<\/a> \u2014 which assists with pet search and rescue efforts as part of its mission \u2014 used thermal imaging from an unmanned drone to lead rescuers to her. They found the wayward dog in a wooded area, and Woodbridge Township police eventually rescued Abbie around 2 a.m. Sunday, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from where she initially escaped.<\/p>\n Abbie was cold and very fearful when the officers found her, and she was later found to have suffered a hip injury that will require surgery, police and rescuers said. <\/p>\n It was the USAR\u2019s 123rd dog rescue, the team said.<\/p>\n