Ransom Note Demands Money for Dog Already Found
By: Josh Berry
Updated: November 3, 2012
Investigators in Benton are looking into a ransom note sent to a person demanding money and threatening to dump their best friend on the side of the interstate.
It's the four legged kind of friend but it has those involved very upset, and even perplexed too. That's because the ransom demand for the missing dog was sent after it had already been found.
David Dobbs' best friend is actually named "Best Friend."
8 years ago the dog sort of fell in his lap and the name did too. When people asked what her name was while he tried to find an owner, he always just said she didn't have a name but was just his best friend.
Those two words stuck and for just short of a decade they stayed side by side until however, about 2 weeks ago.
"I got really intent on fixing my bike and I looked up and my dog was missing," David Dobbs explained.
His best friend was gone.
***
Meredith Poland has her own two best friends. Of course that's not their names though. She has Louis and somewhere under the shadow of his 230 pound frame, Parker.
Poland is Dobb's coworker. She set out to help her friend find his dog.
"We got together and started posting information to Craigslist, Facebook and Twitter."
Within five minutes of posting on Facebook, someone had called Dobbs' phone. It was a woman around the corner from his home that found the dog.
It brought the two back together again. But the story's not over yet.
The day after Dobbs found "Best Friend" he had an email from someone saying they had her, wanted money for her and threatened to dump her on the side of the freeway.
A Craigslist warning came with the ransom email, "beware of scams."
"A really weird situation," Dobbs added.
They knew he didn't have their dog and they had no idea who this person was, only that is was coming from Benton.
"We knew that the Benton Police Department had a really good social media presence," Poland said.
So they posted what was going on and shortly after a police report was filed.
The location of the address in question popped up on the far outskirts of Benton. We're still waiting to hear back from law enforcement.
"I had my dog back already but what if I had shown up?" Dobbs questioned. "Was it stab me and take 100 dollars? Was it hold me ransom?"
They just hope something like this doesn't happen to someone actually still missing their friend, so they too, can have a happy ending to their story.
It's the four legged kind of friend but it has those involved very upset, and even perplexed too. That's because the ransom demand for the missing dog was sent after it had already been found.
David Dobbs' best friend is actually named "Best Friend."
8 years ago the dog sort of fell in his lap and the name did too. When people asked what her name was while he tried to find an owner, he always just said she didn't have a name but was just his best friend.
Those two words stuck and for just short of a decade they stayed side by side until however, about 2 weeks ago.
"I got really intent on fixing my bike and I looked up and my dog was missing," David Dobbs explained.
His best friend was gone.
***
Meredith Poland has her own two best friends. Of course that's not their names though. She has Louis and somewhere under the shadow of his 230 pound frame, Parker.
Poland is Dobb's coworker. She set out to help her friend find his dog.
"We got together and started posting information to Craigslist, Facebook and Twitter."
Within five minutes of posting on Facebook, someone had called Dobbs' phone. It was a woman around the corner from his home that found the dog.
It brought the two back together again. But the story's not over yet.
The day after Dobbs found "Best Friend" he had an email from someone saying they had her, wanted money for her and threatened to dump her on the side of the freeway.
A Craigslist warning came with the ransom email, "beware of scams."
"A really weird situation," Dobbs added.
They knew he didn't have their dog and they had no idea who this person was, only that is was coming from Benton.
"We knew that the Benton Police Department had a really good social media presence," Poland said.
So they posted what was going on and shortly after a police report was filed.
The location of the address in question popped up on the far outskirts of Benton. We're still waiting to hear back from law enforcement.
"I had my dog back already but what if I had shown up?" Dobbs questioned. "Was it stab me and take 100 dollars? Was it hold me ransom?"
They just hope something like this doesn't happen to someone actually still missing their friend, so they too, can have a happy ending to their story.
Comments
I had the same thing happen to me. The guy emailed me from craiglist demanding money so I could have my dog. The address he gave was of someone who I was acquainted with and so I knew it was false. He then preceded to tell me I must not want my dog. I emailed some more and he gave me a false cell number to a guy from Camden. The emails stopped when I stopped playing his game.
Rachael M.
November 3, 2012 at 10:52 pm
