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CENTERVILLE — A photo showing two children inside a dog kennel in the back of a truck quickly went viral on Facebook Thursday, but after investigating, Centerville Police said it appeared the children were simply playing.
“They say a picture is worth a thousand words,” Assistant Police Chief Paul Child said. “Well, maybe those thousand words aren’t exactly correct.”
Child said surveillance video showed the truck coming to a stop outside the Zions Bank at 440 W. Parrish Lane, the children getting out, jumping into the kennel, and then getting out of the kennel and back into the cab of the truck before the truck left the lot.
Police were initially very concerned by the image, Child said, and sent two detectives to the scene after a call was placed to police.
The woman who took the photo outside the bank declined a formal interview with KSL. However, she stated in a Facebook message that at the time it appeared the children “weren’t happy” to be inside the kennel and “even if they were messing around that’s not funny and it’s not what I saw.”
The image quickly spread on social media, and other tipsters sent it multiple times to KSL.
We want people to call that kind of stuff in. It was something that needed to be investigated, but at this point it looks like it was a harmless, innocent thing.
–Assistant Police Chief Paul Child, Centerville Police Department
“These are children in the dog crate strapped on the back of this monster’s truck!!!!” one woman posted.
Another woman said, “Please help gets (sic) this out. This is horrific!”
Child said detectives made contact with the father of the children Thursday night, and he was surprised about the reaction that stemmed from the picture.
No further details were made public about the conversation with the man, but Child said no further action would be taken by police.
Child acknowledged the unwieldy power of social media in cases like these, but he also said the woman who took the photo did the right thing by calling police.
“We want people to call that kind of stuff in,” Child said. “It was something that needed to be investigated, but at this point it looks like it was a harmless, innocent thing.”
