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Suspect steals Austin animal shelter's van
Austin Pets Alive! says their transport van has been found after it was stolen in downtown Austin.
AUSTIN, Texas - Austin Pets Alive! says their transport van has been found after it was stolen early in the morning on Monday, Jan. 8.
APA! says around 3:55 a.m. a man smashed through the gates at their downtown Austin animal shelter and took off with their van.
After social media posts and news coverage, the bright yellow and orange van with APA! logos was spotted at a nearby 7-Eleven, APA! says.
APA! says its transport van was stolen from its downtown Austin location early Monday morning. They say the suspect was caught on surveillance video. (Austin Pets Alive!)
APA! says the van has transported and saved thousands of pets' lives and is vital to the organization's efforts.
The van had been donated to the nonprofit to use for their Transport Program, which was started because of Winter Storm Uri in 2021.
"These two vans are really our primary focus of saving animals that are stuck in shelters that don't have the resources. What's really unfortunate is this van was scheduled to go transport some animals later this week out of APA! to another shelter. And because of that, that's going to have to be delayed for who knows how long."
The organization says the break-in caused about $13,000 damage to its gates. They are still unsure about how much damage the van sustained.
It's unclear if the suspect has been located.
To help Austin Pets Alive! with damage expenses, click here.