SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Surveillance video captured a man picking up a dog walking alone outside of his Southwest Miami-Dade home on Tuesday, but did cameras record a kidnapping or an act of kindness?
The Essig family has been going around their neighborhood putting up fliers with a photo of 11-year-old Foxy. They said their beloved Yorkie wandered out of their home.
“She has been with us [almost] 12 years. It’ll be 12 years in September,” said Nikki Essig.
The video, belonging to the family’s neighbor, shows Foxy walking by herself across Southwest 95th Street, near 117th Avenue. Seconds later, a blue Volkswagen sedan is seen pulling up next to her, and a man stepping out of the vehicle.
The stranger appears to pet the Yorkie before he is seen picking her up, putting her into the car and driving away.
The family said the canine is frail. She is missing her teeth, and her hearing and sight are limited.
Essig and her children took 7News to the spot where she was picked up. “This is where we see [her] in the footage,” she said.
The homeowner believes the man seen in the video was a good Samaritan. “I think he was just trying to protect her. There was a big storm coming,” said Essig.
But the unknown man has not been seen or heard from since and neither has Foxy.
The dog’s disappearance has left the family distraught. “Me and him and mom and Dad love her so much that we wish that she would come back,” said Essig’s daughter.
And so, Foxy’s picture is now on Facebook. Her family is desperate to find the man in the blue Volkswagen so they can be reunited with her.
Michelle Escobar is the area resident who called the Essigs to let them know another neighbor had recorded the Yorkie being picked up. “She says, ‘There’s a guy who picked it up from right outside your house,'” said Escobar.
The Essigs are happy the animal was saved from being able to walk back onto the street, and possibly onto the path of a car, but they also wished the man who has her now would have stuck around to see if her owners were nearby. The family said they were.
Now, Foxy’s absence has created quite a void in their home. “It’s hard to even be able to get things done because she’s not around. We all love her,” said Essig.
The family said they have met with Miami-Dade Police, and they expect to have a detective on the case soon.
If you have information about Foxy’s whereabouts, call Miami-Dade Police at 305-4-POLICE (305-476-5423).
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