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3-city search leads Akron police to lost dog

Posted at 7:18 PM, May 15, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-16 11:13:47-04

A dog got loose in Kenmore on May 6 and ignited a five day, three-city wide search that called on the powers of social media and community police officers for a solution, according to Akron police.

A woman was visiting friends in Kenmore on the fateful Friday when her dog got away. Though she and her friends scoured the neighborhood looking, Emma, the dog, remained AWOL.
 
Hope sparked when a Barberton dog-sighting that fit Emma's description popped up on Facebook.
 
But that was not to be the end. Despite Emma's owner making repeated calls to the phone number listed with the sighting, no one answered.
 
Five long days later, on May 11, Emma's owner called the Akron Police Department, hoping an officer might be willing to help.
 
Two were. Officers Andrew Bowman and Ryan McPherson joined the quest and put a real face with the digital user who had posted the first sighting. 
 
But Emma was not to be found with them. 
 
Officers were on the right trail, though, as the Facebook contact led them to a second person, who also didn't have the dog but knew a friend who might.
 
Making their way to Kent, Bowman and McPherson located the friend, who it turned out had wanted a dog for his elderly mother. 
 
One lead, led to another, until the officers found themselves standing on Kent's east side. And there she was--Emma.
 
Within two hours, the four-footed runaway and her owner were reunited with tears.