Tragedy as body of missing firefighter who disappeared in national forest two weeks ago while looking for his dog is discovered... days after the animal was found waiting forlornly by his truck

• Authorities found Mike Herdman's body on Friday in California's Los Padres National Forest
• His dog, named Duke, was found Sunday in the parking lot where Herdman had parked his car
• Herdman and a friend were camping June 13 when the dog ran off and the 36-year-old chased after the pet barefoot and wearing only shorts
• Search crews put in nearly 5,000 hours and scoured 50 square miles on foot, horseback and by air
• His remains were found in a rugged cliff area of the park
• Herdman's cause of death is yet to be determined
  

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER and AP

Published: 01:50 EST, 28 June 2014 | Updated: 15:45 EST, 28 June 2014

A California firefighter who disappeared two weeks ago after chasing after his dog during a backpacking trip was found dead Friday, authorities said, less than a week after his dog was found alive.

The body of Mike Herdman, 36, was found in a rugged cliff area about three-quarters of a mile and 1,200 feet above the river bottom where he was last seen June 13, Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said.

Authorities theorized that he may have fallen off of a cliff, but his remains could only be identified by his dental records after being exposed to the elements for such a long period of time.

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Sad end: The remains of firefighter Mike Herdman were found Friday after being missing for two weeks

Safe: Duke, pictured after his ordeal, was found Sunday in the parking lot where Herdman had parked his car

Rescue: This picture shows the moment search crews finally rescued Duke after spotting him multiple times over the past week

'He’s probably the only one that can answer those questions about why’d he'd go so far in the middle of the night like that,' Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean tells NBC LA.

Authorities will have to wait until an autopsy is performed to determine an official cause of death.

Herdman and a friend were backpacking in the Los Padres National Forest river bottom when his dog, Duke, ran off.

The firefighter chased after his pet barefoot and wearing only shorts and a T-shirt.

Herdman's friend made his way back to a trailhead June 15 to alert authorities, setting off a large-scale search. Dean said search crews put in about 5,000 hours and scoured 50 square miles on foot, on horseback and by air — including the use of two drones.

Herdman had experience backpacking in the backcountry, officials said.

Dean said searchers focused on areas they thought Herdman could get to because they didn't think someone without shoes would scale a 1,200-foot mountainside.

'Nobody could imagine that he was able to travel that far,' the sheriff said.

Tragic: Mike Herdman, pictured, was a paramedic with the Arcadia Fire Department whose body was found Friday

Scene: Rescuers spent two weeks looking for Herdman after he was reported missing in the rough terrain of the Los Padres National Forest

Missed: Herdman was described as a good friend and dedicated fireman by those who knew and worked with him

Firefighters from the Fire Department in Arcadia, a suburb east of Los Angeles, looked for Herdman for more than a week, Fire Chief Kurt Norwood told KABC-TV.

'We're glad that he was found, but at the same time we're sad that we lost a family member, so obviously we got heavy hearts here,' Norwood said.

Duke was spotted twice during the search but eluded capture.

A hiker spotted the exhausted dog Sunday in the parking lot where Herdman had parked his car.

Co-worker Taylor Byars, who was also on the trip, unsuccessfully looked for him before he left the park and was able to contact authorities two days later, the paper said.

Ventura County Sheriff's Captain Luis Obregon told the Daily News last week an air crew was used to search for Herdman as well as volunteers on horseback.

Herdman was 'an elite athlete and family man who planned to be home on Father's Day,' NBC Los Angeles reported. 

'He's in incredible shape,' Sgt. Eric Buschow said of the firefighter prior to authorities finding his body.

'But even with experience in the back country, if you don't have the right clothing and you don't have the right gear, it can be a tough situation to get out of.'