Stolen Dog Rescued After News Crew Realizes Man Being Interviewed Is the Suspect in Dog's Kidnapping
A man in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Friday passed a parked car with a dog inside around noon. Seeing the dog in the car, he appeared to stop, break into the car and take the dog.
The dog was not his, but off he went with the 13-month-old German shorthaired pointer named Titus.
Owner Greg Siesczkiewicz was distraught and sent out an SOS for anyone who might spot his beloved pup.
“Titus was taken at 12:28pm today from 620 Memorial Drive Cambridge,” he posted on Facebook on May 7. “Reward and no questions asked. Please.”
Police were soon on the case and were able to grab screenshots from nearby surveillance cameras of a man walking Titus, presumably the suspect, and circulated them on social media.
“Yesterday at approximately 12:32p, an unknown suspect broke into and entered a vehicle that was parked at 620 Memorial Drive & stole a 13-month-old white German Short Haired Pointer out of the vehicle,” the Cambridge Police tweeted.
“The suspect was then observed walking the dog over the BU Bridge into Boston.”
The dog was wearing an orange collar with the name “Titu.”
If anyone has any information about this incident, they are strongly encouraged to call the Cambridge Police at 617-349-3300. #CambMA pic.twitter.com/iUQAO62u9L
— Cambridge Police?? (@CambridgePolice) May 8, 2021
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“The dog was wearing an orange collar with the name ‘Titu,'” a follow-up tweet read. “If anyone has any information about this incident, they are strongly encouraged to call the Cambridge Police.”
It was reporter Juliana Mazza with 7NEWS who made a call to the Cambridge Police later in the day under rather surprising circumstances.
As Mazza and photojournalist John Guice went to the parking lot to cover Titus’ story, a man walking a German shorthaired pointer passed. Mazza engaged him in conversation and indicated to Guice to start filming.
She asked to pet the dog, using the opportunity to look at the dog’s collar and tags to see if it was, indeed, Titus.
The man, 29-year-old Kyle Gariepy, eventually began to explain himself.
“He was just barking in the car, and I walked past the car, and I thought it was supposed to be a dog I was dog walking,” Gariepy told them, according to WHDH-TV. “It wasn’t a kidnapping. It was just a simple mistake.”
As he stood there, Mazza dialed 911 and began explaining she was standing with Titus and the man who claimed to have taken the dog “by mistake.” The police arrived and arrested Gariepy on charges of larceny and breaking and entering into a vehicle to commit a felony.
#ICYMI: I HAD to repost this story told by the lovely @MeganAlexander of @InsideEdition ! It aired last night after #7News at 6pm! pic.twitter.com/KvW176Q6xQ
— Juliana Mazza (@julianamazzatv) May 11, 2021
Mazza made sure to recognize Guice’s role in the rescue.
“Just need to say how grateful I am to my photojournalist that day, John Guice!” Mazza tweeted on May 10. “He actually spoke with the man first about how beautiful Titus was. As I walked over I quickly realized we found the dog and had the suspect. Wouldn’t have been possible without him!”
Siesczkiewicz was thrilled to be reunited with his pup and thankful that Mazza and the crew were in the right place at the right time.
“I’m just glad that the person came back and I’m just glad that you guys were there,” Siesczkiewicz said. “If anyone ever sees this who question the value of media, social media, broadcast media, this proves it.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
