It is a joyous time for Cynthia Petkovich of Erie and George King of Philadelphia as they prepare for their wedding on Jan. 11.

But some of that joy has been dampened. On Saturday, after King got into a traffic accident on Interstate 80, their Jack Russell terrier, Sir Frederick, ran away. The dog may be in Mercer County.

At 6 p.m., King, 53, was driving west in Beaver Township, Clarion County, when he fell asleep at the wheel of his Ford Explorer and struck a cement barrier, state police in Clarion said. He was headed to Erie to finalize wedding plans, said Rev. Petkovich, the pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Erie.

King was treated at United Community Hospital, Pine Township, police said, while Sir Frederick was picked up at the scene of the accident and taken to the Mercer state police barracks in Jackson Township, Rev. Petkovich said.

At the barracks, Sir Frederick escaped, Rev. Petkovich said.

"He's gone," she said. "We haven't gotten him back."

Rev. Petkovich said the 5-year-old dog has "a very unusual little face." He is tan, black and white, and half of his whiskers are black and half are white. One of his ears stands up and one flops down. Rev. Petkovich said the children in her congregation told her the dog was "broken" and said a prayer to fix him.

She believes the dog was not injured.

"We desperately would like to get him back," she said.

Anyone who thinks they've found Sir Frederick should contact Rev. Petkovich at home, (814) 899-6900; at the church, (814) 899-6386 or on her cellular phone, (814) 504-1392.