YELM, Wash. — Update: The Jeep stolen from a Yelm couple was found Tuesday night. The dog, 5-year-old Ivey, was found near the Jeep Wednesday morning. The couple said that social media and the news coverage helped them immensely in their search.
Original story:
A Yelm couple is desperate to find their dog after their Jeep was stolen during a hospital visit.
KIRO 7's Rob Munoz reports the thief may not have even known the dog was inside at the time.
An empty leash outside of a Yelm home was once the spot where Ivey, a 5-year-old Labrador mix, loved to sit between the sun and shade.
Last night, Samantha Worley says she had a panic attack and was taken to a Allenmoore hospital in Tacoma.
Her husband, Richard, followed along in a 1991 Jeep Cherokee with Ivey in the back.
"We were inside the waiting room for about an hour when he went to check on the dog and our Jeep," Samantha Worley said. "And he noticed the Jeep was gone."
The couple checked with hospital security, who told them it wasn't towed, and there was no broken glass.
They called Tacoma police, who said it was likely the Jeep -- with Ivey in the back -- was stolen.
Now, they have no Jeep and no dog.
"You feel 100% hopeless, and you are. I can't go out, and I could be out there walking around the neighborhood and calling for her," Samantha Worley said.
The couple posted on social media about their dog, and neighbors in the area have even offered to look themselves and have shared it more than 100 times.
Richard Worley says for the couple, the dog was everything.
"I just got out of the Army recently and was struggling a bit. She's not technically a therapy dog, but she is to us," Richard Worley said.
Without their Jeep, the couple can't search for Ivey -- and they think the person may not have known until later the dog was inside.
They've enlisted friends who can help, but they're hoping someone can somehow spot the dog who's made their family even more special.
"She could still be in the Jeep at this point, and so that's our concern. That they dumped the Jeep somewhere and left her in it," Samantha Worley said.
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- Do you have an investigative story tip? Send us an email at investigate@kiro7.com
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