Police Looking For Man Accused Of Kidnapping Beverly Woman's Dog

BEVERLY, MA -- Beverly Police Saturday said they have been investigating a missing dog case since Nov. 8 as allegations that the dog may have been kidnapped emerged on Facebook. In a Facebook post, Shelly Fox claimed that a man who had offered to walk the dog for an 80-year-old Beverly woman had not returned with the dog and instead started sending her messages demanding $500.

A spokesperson for the Beverly Police Department said Fox had not contacted them and that the victim who reported the dog missing on Nov. 8 was actually 52 years old. "I can tell you we have been investigating this since 5:15 in the morning on Nov. 8," Beverly Police spokesman Officer Mike Boccuzzi said.

Fox, the woman who started circulating the Facebook post on Friday in hopes of identifying the man, said the victim called the man when he did not return with her dog, Holly.

"He wants her to add money to his bank card but I know when she does that he’ll just ask for more. I told her not to," Fox said. Fox does not personally know the victim, who created a Facebook page in hopes of getting the message out about her missing dog, but said she was trying to help her get Holly, her dog, returned safely..

"He said he does this for a living and they won’t catch him," Fox said.

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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).