Florida deputies reunite dog with its owner after nanny stole it, left it on side of road: sheriff
(Photos via digital screen grab of Lee County Sheriff's Office's video)
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Deputies have reunited a dog with their owner after it was stolen by the family's longtime nanny, and abandoned on the side of the road, authorities said.
On Wednesday, the Lee County Sheriff's Office said its deputies were called to a home on Caisson Lane in Fort Myers for a report of a stolen dog, named Lady.
The family said their nanny, 61-year-old Eileen Schultz had been fired earlier in the day, and they suspected that she stole Lady.
Deputies were able to track down Schultz at a hotel. When asked about Lady, Schultz initially said she did not take the dog, but later confessed after hotel workers told law enforcement that they saw her with the dog.
Schultz then reportedly told deputies that she took the dog but changed her mind and wanted to return Lady to the family.
Pictured: Eileen Schultz (Photo via Lee County Sheriff's Office)
Instead of returning the dog, detectives said she dropped off the dog in the area of Penzance Boulevard and Caisson Lane.
Investigators searched that area overnight looking for Lady, and on Thursday morning, they found the dog at a home in Danforth Lakes community. The sheriff's office said a resident had found Lady and had taken her in for the night.
Lady's family was extremely thankful for the deputies who searched and returned their furry friend.
"I am disgusted by this woman’s actions to steal an innocent dog and drop the dog on the side of the road," Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in a statement. "Because of the dedication of my deputies and detectives, we were able to locate the dog, Lady, and reunite her with her family."
Schultz was arrested on a charge of grand theft.