Pickup being scrubbed at car wash mysteriously drove off with owner’s dog, NC cops say

UPDATE: Thomasville police have arrested a suspect and charged him with larceny of a motor vehicle and larceny of a dog. The truck was recovered. The original story is below.

A man scrubbing his pickup at a North Carolina car wash watched in shock as it suddenly drove off — with his dog Suzie inside, according to the Thomasville Police Department.

Suzie, a Belgian Malinois, has been found. The victim’s Ford F150 truck stayed missing for days, police said in a news release.

It happened just before 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Hasty Car Wash on Hasty School Road, officials said. Thomasville is about 70 miles northeast of Charlotte in Davidson County.

Detectives say the owner was victimized by a resourceful thief who prowled the car wash.

“The suspect walked right up while the owner was washing the truck and was able to sneak in the other side,” police say. “The suspect sped off with the owner’s dog still inside.”

Detectives report they have a suspect, a 34-year-old Thomasville man identified as James William Howard, who remains at large.

Hundreds of people shared the department’s Facebook post, including commenters who reported a dog resembling Suzie was seen wandering the Interstate 85 Business loop around Thomasville.

She was found unharmed Tuesday, Sept. 20, police said in an update. The search is ongoing for the victim’s gray and white Ford F150 pickup, which has a North Carolina registration plate of HP-8761.

Commenters on the department’s post called the incident “scary” and an example of how criminals are becoming more daring.

“Apparently, now you have to lock your car while you are washing it. Definitely lock it while pumping gas too,” one man wrote on the police department’s Facebook page.

This story was originally published September 21, 2022 at 6:25 AM with the headline "Pickup being scrubbed at car wash mysteriously drove off with owner’s dog, NC cops say."