Lending Tree CEO and Dad of 3’s Body Was Found on Family Farm Thanks to Their Dog, 911 Call Reveals

“I heard that dog! He barked one time. He’s on that hill. … There it was again,” said a caller who reported Doug Lebda missing on Oct. 12

NEED TO KNOW

Doug Lebda, the former CEO of LendingTree, died on Oct. 12 on his North Carolina farm in an incident involving an ATV

According to a 911 call and county records, a dog’s barking helped searchers find Lebda’s body

A memorial service was held for Lebda in Charlotte, N.C., on Oct. 19

The searchers for Doug Lebda, the former LendingTree CEO and founder, were able to locate his deceased body due to a labradoodle’s barking, according to a 911 call and local records.

In their initial announcement, his company said that the business executive and father of three, 55, was killed “unexpectedly” on Oct. 12 in what they described as an “all-terrain vehicle accident” on a family farm in North Carolina.

According to a 911 call obtained by The Charlotte Observer, a caller who said he worked for Lebda reached out to a Polk County emergency dispatcher on Oct. 12 around 7:30 p.m. local time and reported Lebda as missing.

“I need everybody because this owner has disappeared at this farm right here where the pond is,” said the caller, who identified the owner as Lebda. The caller also said that Lebda departed on his ATV around 3 p.m., and although he did not have his phone, he had his “little labradoodle” with him.

“We heard the dog barking a while ago, but now we can’t find the dog,” said the caller, according to the newspaper. “The dog is with Doug. Megan [Lebda’s wife] in Charlotte. He’s here by himself.”

A few minutes later, the caller said: “I heard that dog! He barked one time. He’s on that hill. … There it was again.” He told the dispatcher that the barking was on the other side of a dam and that searchers were already present.

According to a 911 report obtained by the Observer, members of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and emergency responders were en route to the scene. Lebda’s body was found around 8:06 p.m., ”pinned under the overturned side-by-side.”

In a statement to PEOPLE on Thursday, Oct. 23, a Polk County spokesperson wrote that “an investigator from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene and determined that there were no indications of foul play.”

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for additional comment.

Shortly after her husband’s death, Megan Lebda said it was “impossible to capture the depth of who Doug was and what he meant to all of us.”

“He was an amazing man with a heart so big it seemed to have room for everyone he met. Doug was compassionate, generous, and endlessly curious about the world and the people around him. He made friends everywhere he went,” she added. “His energy was magnetic, his smile contagious, and his presence was a source of comfort and inspiration.”

“Doug’s greatest joy was seeing others succeed. His generosity knew no limits, and his kindness touched every single person who crossed his path. He lifted people up, believed in their potential, and celebrated their wins as if they were his own,” Megan continued.

Lebda started LendingTree, a financial services company, in 1996 — “after a frustrating experience trying to obtain his first mortgage,” according to his company biography — and served in various roles in the ensuing decades, including as an executive with IAC in the years that it owned LendingTree. (IAC now owns People Inc., PEOPLE’s parent company.)

“Doug was a visionary leader whose relentless drive, innovation and passion transformed the financial services landscape, touching the lives of millions of consumers,” LendingTree’s board said in a statement. “His passion will continue to inspire us as we move forward together. We extend our deepest sympathies to Doug’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.”

His daughters, Abby and Rachel, paid tribute to their father while attending his memorial service on Sunday, Oct. 19.

“My dad was the most incredible man I’ve ever known and I’m the luckiest girl in the world to get to call him my dad,” Rachel said, per ABC affiliate WSOC.

“As for the three of us, don’t worry dad. We have each other now, and I know you’re proud of us,” said Abby.