Bold dognapping caught on camera

ALVARADO, Texas - Social media helped investigators in Johnson County track down a young girl who was caught on camera stealing two dogs.

Whitney Rogers is both angry and relieved that she got her two dogs back after what she calls a brazen dognapping.

Rogers said on Tuesday the girl walked up to her home and stole Scrappy and Lola. The home’s surveillance cameras captured her tying ropes around the dogs and taking off with them.

“Just to see this person try to take our dogs and then succeed at it. I mean, they’re not just dogs. They’re part of our family,” she said.

Rogers got the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department involved. She also turned to social media to help find her pets. The response was outrageous.

“We’ve had over 200 shares and we really appreciate that. That helped a lot to find them and make them back home,” she said.

Just a few hours after making the report, detectives showed up at Rogers’ home with good news. The video posted online helped investigators locate the suspect – a 12-year-old.

“After he confirmed who I was he said he found the dogs and they were down the street in an abandoned house. Sure enough, we went down there and they were in an abandoned house. It smelled awful in there,” she said.

The suspect’s name was not released because she is a juvenile. It’s up to the district attorney, but the Johnson County sheriff said it’s unlikely she will face charges.