Dog Stolen in a Carjacking Back Home After Being Found in Homeless Camp
A dog stolen in a carjacking a week ago has safely returned home after the search by the family located him in a homeless encampment thanks to a hunch and some unexpected help.
Dee Thorell, 74, was at a gas station in Clearfield, Utah when a woman stole her car with her beloved Shih Tzu, Rio, inside. Dee was injured in the encounter but says the pain of not knowing what happened to Rio was far worse.
Police later found her car crashed by the side of the road and arrested a female suspect shortly after. But there was no trace of Rio and the suspect refused to talk.
Over the next week, hundreds of people searched for Rio but the little dog was nowhere to be found. Then Dee said she got a gut feeling to go to the crash site. Dee went there with her son-in-law, Jeremy. They were hanging some flyers up when she noticed a homeless man in a tent nearby. She approached the man named John and showed him a flyer. He told her he had seen Rio a few days earlier at a homeless encampment nearby!
Jeremy went to the camp with John, who pointed to a motor home and when the door opened he called Rio’s name and the dog ran out. Found at last!
Dee told ABC4 Utah that Rio’s return is “Nothing less than a miracle” and she is “on top of the world” now that her precious dog is back home. Dee also gave John the $2500 award that had been offered for Rio’s safe return.
There’s also a heartwarming update regarding the family who took care of Rio for several days. The Mills family unknowingly thought Rio had been abandoned by his owner. Mom Mariah Mills explains that the woman who stole him came to the encampment. Her kids were trying to get help from someone to jumpstart her truck when they flagged down the suspect to ask for help. The suspect said sure, but then asked them if they could watch her dog. The kids said okay, she handed them Rio and then took off.
Fox News provided a further update on the help the family is now getting in the video below:
