SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - An exotic bird that was stolen from a Southwest Miami-Dade home has been reunited with its owners.
Riki, a 23-year old harlequin macaw, was missing for three months after it was stolen from the backyard if its family’s home, located along the 7300 block of Southwest 161st Place, May 16.
“Oh, she’s dancing,” Eduardo Munoz said. “I feel blessed, it’s a miracle, I never lost hope. I feel overwhelmed; it’s a great feeling.”
That bird theft was just one of several in Southwest Miami-Dade in the past few months.
Police used surveillance video evidence to track down their suspect.
Back in July, they arrested 45-year-old Lazaro Mantillaur and recovered more than a dozen birds.
That’s when Natacha Cortes and Munoz where reunited with their cockatoo Pepe. 7News was the only station there for the reunion, but their family and others were still missing birds.
Miami-Dade Police kept working the case and were able to return the pets to their rightful owners.
On July 6, a security camera caught a man at Galloway Farms who hopped a fence, shoved two Amazon parrots into a bag and took off. Now, Jaime and Paco are back on their perch at the nursery.
Another theft happened on July 11 where Loco and Manu were stolen from a Southwest Miami-Dade backyard. They were returned to their family on Wednesday.
That’s the same day Munoz got the call from a detective on the case.
“She said, “Are you ready?’ I said, ‘What happened?'” Munoz said. “‘Come to the station, I have your baby. You’re going to have your baby back.'”
The family said they’re thankful for the detectives who kept aggressively working the case until Riki was home.
“Thanks to the Miami-Dade Police Department and the effort that the community made, so we’re very happy for this reunion.” Cortes said. “I feel like the family is complete again. She’s finally home, she made it home.”
“She’s back, we’re happy now. That’s all that matters now,” said Munoz.
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