UPDATE: Dec. 14, 2017 – Surrey RCMP say Tank, the then eight-week-old pit bull puppy stolen from his owner on Sept. 28, has now been located and reunited with his original family.
No further updates have been given at this time.
The file is still under investigation.
Story from Oct. 27, 2017:
The Surrey RCMP are seeking the public’s help to find an eight-week-old pit bull puppy named Tank, and the two men who allegedly stole him.
Police were alerted to Tank’s case on Sept. 28, at 3 p.m.
Tank had been placed up for sale online. The woman selling him arranged to meet a prospective buyer at Fleetwood Park, near 160th Street and 80th Avenue, said an RCMP news release.
Coverage of pit bulls on Globalnews.ca:
Two male suspects showed up at the meeting.
Police said one of the men took the puppy and ran away, while the second male snapped away the victim’s cell phone and then punched her in the face, police said.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this style of robbery utilizing online classifieds,” Cpl. Scotty Schumann said in a statement.
The suspects were witnessed leaving the area in a car that might have been a brown Toyota Tercel.
Police described the two men as being twenty-something South Asians.
One of them was described as wearing a black hoodie that said “Crooks” and had a picture of the “Rich Uncle Pennybags” character from the Monopoly board game.
The other suspect was described as wearing a blue sweatshirt along with a pullover red hoodie.
Tank, meanwhile, was described as a black pit bull who has white accents on his feet, chest and chin.
He also has a white line that runs down his nose.
“Police recommend being extremely careful when buying or selling merchandise online and meeting up with unknown persons,” Schumann said.
“To reduce your likelihood of becoming a victim to a personal robbery, have a friend go with you and meet in a very public place.”