A Virginia woman's brutal death is in question. Investigators say she was mauled to death by her two dogs, but her friends say that's not possible.

GOOCHLAND, Va. (WWBT) - A Virginia woman's brutal death is in question. Investigators say she was mauled to death by her two dogs, but her friends say that's not possible.

Bethany Lynn Stephens, 22, was found just after 8:15 p.m. Thursday in a remote area of Goochland County, which borders Richmond.

The search started after Stephens' father called 911 saying he hadn't seen her in nearly two days. He went to look for her where she frequently walked her dogs in the woods. He found her, thinking she was just hurt.

Deputies say they found the dogs guarding her when they arrived.

"The female had suffered severe trauma and was being guarded, for lack of a better word, by two very large, brindle colored pitbull dogs who were very reluctant to be caught," Sheriff Jim Agnew said.

It took authorities more than an hour to catch the dogs.

The sheriff says they were huge and trained to fight. In a press conference on Mon. Dec. 19, the sheriff announced in a press conference that the dogs have been euthanized.

"They were big, strong, powerful dogs," Sheriff Agnew said.

The medical examiner says the attack appeared to be a violent attack initiated by the dogs while out for a walk.

Sheriff Agnew called it, "absolutely grisly," saying the dogs forced her to the ground. She also lost consciousness before she was killed.

It appears the first traumatic injury was to her throat and face, but she also had puncture wounds to her skull and some of her clothing was scattered around the area near her body, torn into small pieces with patches of blood.

“We’re a very small family-oriented county,” said Paul Dyer, who saw the search outside her own window. "I think we ended up going to bed around 12:30 or 1 o’clock ... they were still out."

Barbara Norris, who says she was best friends with the victim, says the dogs she knew would never turn on her friend. She says the account of what happened doesn't add up.

"Those dogs would not attack her," Norris told NBC station WWBT. "They'd kill you with kisses."

Norris says the dogs even slept in bed with Stephens at night.

"The wounds on her hands, face and throat were probably from them protecting her," said Norris.

She says she's going to do whatever it takes to make sure investigators have exhausted all possibilities.

"When she takes them for walks, she comes right back. When we looked at the kennels, they looked like they had been broken open and went to go help her."

Now, she is speaking with investigators to find out if there's more to this story.

"In my 40 years of law enforcement, I've never seen anything like it,” Sheriff Agnew said. "Hope I never see anything like it again."