Our missing dog mystery in Highland Springs North has been solved, thanks to Det. Tom Rogers with the Hamilton County Police Department.

We previously reported in late January that two full-breed whippet dogs, Libby and Patsy, were missing from the Coughenour family since December 9th of last year (see “Missing Dog Mystery in Highland Springs“). Just a few weeks after our story, Det. Rogers called the Coughenours with the good news.

“He called and said ‘I have your dogs’,” said Debbie Coughenour. “We were just elated.”

Charged with the theft of the dogs was the breeder, Lisa Fox-Mann of New Castle. Trial date is set for May 29th in Marion County Court.

According to Det. Rogers, an unidentified woman spotted the dogs roaming around Geist Elementary School off of Olio Road near the Coughenours and took them to the Indianapolis Veterinary Specialists in Castleton on the morning of December 9th. One of the dogs had a micro chip which directed them back to the New Castle breeder who was called.

“When I interviewed the staff at the Castleton clinic, they remembered the dogs and gave a description of the lady that picked up the dogs that matched that of Mrs. Mann,” said Det. Rogers.

The Coughenours had received a phone call that evening from Mann claiming that their dogs had been picked up by someone else and that the unidentified person was upset with the Coughenours for “letting their dogs run free” in the neighborhood. When pressed for this unidentified person’s phone number, Mann abruptly ended the call.

Det. Rogers was able to get the phone records of Mann on December 9th, which showed only one in-bound call that morning; a phone call that traced back to the Bridgeview Animal Hospital in Castleton.

Equipped with a positive identification on Mann and a copy of her phone records, Det. Rogers drove to the New Castle farm and confronted Mann and her mother. The next day at 9:00 pm, Mann’s mother delivered Libby and Patsy to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s offices unharmed.

“They had lost about 3 to 5 pounds each and smelled like a barn,” Debbie said.

“We knew all along that our dogs were alive, we just didn’t know where they were,” said Rick Coughenour. “It was a dark holiday season for us.”

Rick and Debbie both attribute their happy reunion to Det. Rogers, a 7-year veteran with Animal Control in Hamilton County.

“Without him, we never would have gotten our girls back,” said Rick. “He was persistent; he never gave up, and it finally paid off.”

“This is my first theft I’ve had to investigate since I’ve been here,” said Rogers. “I deal mostly with abuse or strays. This was definitely a unique case.”

Libby and Patsy have gained back most of the weight that they lost, and the Coughenours have settled into their new daily routine which now includes walking their dogs around Highland Springs North.

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