Champaign police seeking stolen car, dog
CHAMPAIGN — Champaign police are looking for a large dog and a car that were stolen late Friday or early Saturday.
Deputy Chief Troy Daniels said a Champaign man reported to police about 10:20 a.m. Saturday that his car, containing his 13-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, was not where he left it Friday afternoon.
Daniels said the man told police he parked the car in the 100 block of North First Street about 4 p.m. Friday, but it was gone when he went to drive it about 7 a.m. Saturday.
The car is a blue, 1997, four-door Mercedes E42 with Indiana license plates: 543NES.
Police looked around the downtown area Saturday but were unable to find the dog or the car so they put out a plea for help Saturday night.
"People care a lot about animals and the car is unique enough with the Indiana plate that it could catch someone's attention," Daniels said.
Daniels said the man lives in Champaign but works both locally and in Indiana.
Police are asking that anyone with information about the car or the dog to call the department at 217-351-4545 or Crimestoppers at 217-373-8477.
An anonymous Web tip can be given at http://www.373tips.com or you can text keyword CCTIP plus the tip information to: 274637.
Crimestoppers will pay a reward up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for this crime.
why in the world would the guy leave his dog in the car for 15 hours to begin with? He left the car AND dog at 4pm and didn't go back to his car until 7am? Maybe someone needs to be charged with animal cruelty in this case while the police are looking his car and dog. If he went back to check on his dog sooner, maybe his car wouldn't have been stolen.
I agree with all of your comments and Chief Daniels! People do care alot about animals except for the person who parked the vehicle and left the poor dog inside for 15 hours without a potty break!! Maybe he should be locked up in a confined area for 15 hours without the opportunity for food, water, fresh air and a potty break!
which is worse.
that cpd didnt notice a bright yellow dog locked in a vehicle, next to their parking lot, the lot they drive in and out of at the beginning and end of their shifts?
or that someone brazenly stole a car, across the road, from the police parking lot, the lot they drive in and out of at the beginning and end of their shifts?
speculating that vehicle/dog should have been seem by all three shifts of officers.
lets not restrict this to trashing the officers. that isnt a residential area is it? why are you parked there overnight? waxing the floor at the barber shop?
And what facts are you using that shows the vehicle and dog were there all night. As far as anyone knows the vehicle was taken 5 minutes after he parked it there. He only noticed it gone so many hours later because that is when he returned.
Finally, lets wait and see which part of this guys story is fact or fiction.
You are missing my point. I think the guys a jerk for leaving the dog for any point of time. My posts are directed to the people that say the police drove by the car for 15 hours. My point is nobody knows how long the car sat there before it was stolen. It could have been 5 minutes to who knows, if it indeed even happened like the man states. Having been involved in many insurance cases that people wreck, trade the car for dope or many other things then they call foul and try and report it stolen. Believe me it happens more than people may think.
Another problem here is that the guy allegedly lives in Champaign yet his vehicle is registered in Indiana. State law requires registering a vehicle with Illinois within thirty days of moving here. I suppose it's possible he was within the grace period, but somehow I doubt it.
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