Four police departments are involved in tracking down a woman that posted a picture on Facebook showing animal cruelty.
User Katie Brown posted a picture of her dog with duct tape around her mouth on Nov. 27 with the message, “This is what happens when you don’t shut up!!!”
She followed up minutes later with the post, “Dont panic everyone it was only for a minute but hasnt barked since… POINT MADE!!!
Her animal abuse caused outrage with the image going viral (it was shared more than 300,000 before being taken down on Sunday). And while it has spread like wildfire online, law enforcement is having a hard time tracking her down offline.
Initially, people thought she was living in South Daytona, Florida, as this is where her Facebook account states she resides. Local police had been inundated with calls — more than 32,000 — and were attempting to track her down. The Volusia County (Daytona is located there) police department also received a number of calls about the Facebook post. After further investigation they believe the incident happened in Florida, but the woman wasn’t at her residence; she may be living in Torrington, Connecticut. With three police departments in two different states trying to track down Brown, the story takes another twist.
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Brown’s adult son told law enforcement that his mom hasn’t lived in Florida for the last year and a half, according to NBC New York. He said she could be up in Avon, Connecticut with her boyfriend, possibly a fiancé, but she was heading back to Florida, having gone through the Carolinas on Saturday. Her son told the outlet he can’t get a hold of his mom and believes she shut her phone off after receiving threatening calls from people.
The Avon police department responded to the “home of the alleged abuse and determined that the case did not occur in Avon,” city officials said. They added they don’t believe the woman has been in Avon for quite some time.
So, four police departments — Daytona, Volusia County, Torrington and Avon — are looking into this matter but no one is providing any answers. Depending on the media outlet, the latest update will say the case is either in Florida or Connecticut’s jurisdiction. But all have expressed that they are looking into the matter but just where Brown is no one knows.
A petition on Change.org has started with currently more than 32,000 signatures asking law enforcement agencies to charge her with animal abuse.
Related: Colorado Man Rescues Dog With Mouth Taped Shut
H/T NBC New York