Gene Hackman’s Surviving Dogs Helped Paramedics Find His and Wife’s Bodies

Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s dogs helped first responders as they searched the couple’s Santa Fe home for the French Connection actor’s body on Feb. 26.

When authorities entered the New Mexico home after being asked to do a wellness check on the couple, police told USA Today they quickly found the classical pianist, 65, “splayed on the bathroom floor,” as well as the couple’s dog Zinna, who was found dead in a crate in the bathroom closet.

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While searching for Hackman, however, Santa Fe Police Chief Brian Moya told the outlet that one of the couple’s surviving dogs — Bear or Nikita — kept running up to them, barking and running off in a different direction.

“They realized (the dog) was trying to say, ‘Hey, come over here! Come over here!’” Moya explained to the outlet. The dogs then led the first responders to the mudroom where Hackman had died. Moya said that the actor’s hands were “blackened and showed signs of decomposition” by the time his body was found.

Investigators later determined that Arakawa had died on Feb. 11 due to hantavirus, a rare but often lethal, respiratory illness spread by rodents. Hackman, who was suffering from an advanced stage of Alzheimer’s, died a week later on Feb. 18 from heart complications, according to an irregular heart rhythm detected by his pacemaker. It was determined that Zinna had been left in his crate to recover from a big surgery before his death.

Authorities added at the press conference in which they announced the conclusion of their investigation that Hackman was likely “not aware” his wife had died during his final week due to the progression of his neurodegenerative disease.

Following Hackman and Arakawa’s passing, neighbor Aaron Lenihan told PEOPLE that Arakawa kept the actor “active and engaged” in his later years with puzzles and Zoom yoga classes. Lenihan said that the two were “one of the tightest couples I’ve seen.”

“They seemed like real life partners, really, really close to each other, and they were both incredibly kind. And they were reserved, but they were real, [and] a lot of fun,” he said.