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SALT LAKE CITY — A dog that was stolen earlier this week along with the car he was in has been found and returned to his owner.
Reo, a brown and white Shih Tzu, was located about 11 a.m. on Saturday at a homeless camp by the victim's family, according to a news release from Clearfield police. Details about how the family located him were not immediately available.
Dee Thorell, Reo's owner, said she had stopped at a Maverik, 700 S. State in Clearfield, on Sunday to get a drink. She left her car running with Reo inside with the doors locked. As she was walking in, she said she was approached by a woman who grabbed the key fob out of her pocket. The woman then rushed to the car and opened the driver-side door.
Thorell told the woman that her dog was in the vehicle, but the woman placed the car into reverse, which caused Thorell to fall and hit her head on the open car door. Thorell "was then dragged across the parking lot and suffered a broken arm, bruising to the face and road rash lacerations along the exposed skin," the affidavit states.
The woman, identified by Clearfield police as Melissa Rush, was arrested late Wednesday, but Reo was still unaccounted for.
Police said family members who found the dog told them Reo had been dropped off to a family experiencing homelessness. It appears that the family was unaware that the dog was stolen and "took care of the dog while in their company," said Clearfield police. The dog was returned to Thorell without issue, police added.
Police were working Saturday to determine if it was Rush, or someone else, who dropped the dog off with the family.
Rush was booked into Davis County Jail on Wednesday. She is suspected of robbery, two counts of theft, aggravated assault, two counts of burglary of a vehicle, and trespassing.
