Facebook tips help police track down ferret thieves
Published 1:00 pm Saturday, January 30, 2016
- Adventure Pets store owner Michael Lykins talks on the phone with a customer concerned about the well-being of a ferret, stolen more than two weeks ago and returned Wednesday to the store.
Facebook helped police in Berea, Kentucky “ferret” out the truth Friday and arrest one of two alleged pet thieves who were caught on camera stealing a young, weasel-like creature from a pet store earlier this month.
The two-month-old ferret was sleeping soundly in a hammock on Jan. 12 at Adventure Pets in Berea when she was taken on an adventure herself and placed under a shirt and stolen by two men caught on camera.
Still images were taken from the video and posted on the Berea Police Department’s Facebook page. Public Information Officer Jake Reed told the Richmond (Kentucky) Register that while police normally receive plenty of tips on crimes via social media, “I just don’t think it’s ever helped us find a ferret before.”
The young ferret, valued at approximately $200, was returned to the store Wednesday covered in fleas and malnourished. The couple who brought her in told store owner Michael Lykins they had purchased the animal from Richard Lovell, 20, of London, Kentucky, Lykins said.
Lovell was arrested in Laurel County, about 50 miles away, by Kentucky State Police and charged with theft by unlawful taking (under $500), third-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, and person 18 to 22 years old with possession, purchase or having another purchase alcohol.
“I think they had caught wind that someone told the police who (Lovell) was on Facebook,” Lykins said. “They probably didn’t want to get caught up in it and be found with stolen property.”
Lykins added the reasoning behind the return of the young ferret is not important.
“I’m just glad she is safe again,” he said. “She has eaten a lot more than she usually would have, but that’s okay. She probably missed out on a lot of meals,” Lykins said.
Adventure Pets had a busy day Friday, with plentiful phone calls and concerned customer visits to check on the tiny ferret. For now, she will not be up for adoption until she has gained back the weight she lost, Lykins said.
“She will be OK, we are just giving her some time,” he added.
Ballard writes for the Richmond (Kentucky) Register.
