A dog was reportedly stolen from the Steelville City Dog Pound on March 12 after someone allegedly entered the facility the previous night. The dog was found the following day outside the Crawford County Jail and was returned to the pound.

According to a police report, suspects have not yet been identified in the second-degree burglary case.

When volunteer Christine Haberberger left the pound around 4 p.m. on March 11, she noted that all animals were accounted for. When she returned the next morning, a German Shepherd who had been brought in a week prior was missing from its kennel.

When Officer Adam Marquez arrived on the scene, he noticed that two nuts were missing from a latch that locks the pound’s side gate. The latch and gate had no visible damage.

Lieutenant J.W. Hanner reviewed surveillance footage from the scene and noted that at 10 p.m. on March 11, headlights could be seen driving to the pound, but the vehicle stayed out of camera view. 

Two male voices could be heard, but a security camera was covered by what appeared to be a “large lid” before the suspects could be seen. Hanner could hear the suspects open the gate and grab the dog and saw their shadows walk toward the vehicle.

The vehicle drove away, but Hanner reported that he then saw what appeared to be the stolen dog run past the view of the camera.

On March 13, Officer Cameron Sanders located the missing German Shepherd outside the Crawford County Jail. The dog was safely returned to the pound.

Chief of Police Mike Sherman told aldermen at the last city council meeting that additional locks will be purchased for the pound to prevent any future incidents.