Police are searching for a man they said stole a dog from the family of a teenager who died in a crash last spring.
Carter Freefield, 20, of Pepper Pike, is wanted for the theft of Rick Doody's dog Leo last week. Doody's son Alex Doody is one of two Hawken Upper School students killed in a crash in May.
“Mr. Doody had let the dog out into the yard, had checked three to five minutes later, and the dog was gone, which was very unusual because the dog stays very close to his home," said Hunting Valley Police Chief David Maine.
Rick Doody of Hunting Valley reported his dog missing from his yard on Dec. 28, 2015. He searched for the dog for days, spreading the word through social media, but the dog, Leo, didn't turn up.
On New Year's Eve, someone contacted Doody and told him that they knew someone took the dog and that they knew where Leo was being kept. Doody called police, and they all went to the Pepper Pike address and found the dog.
“When they were going around the outside of the house, they were yelling the dog’s name Leo and could hear a dog barking in the basement,” said Maine.
A warrant has been issued for Freefield's arrest and police said that they have told those close to him to tell him to turn himself in.
“We think it was completely random," Maine added. "We have not uncovered any connection between him and the Doody family.”
