Anna Caplan
When a man was denied a dog adoption at an East Harlem animal shelter last month, he retaliated by stealing a rabbit from the shelter instead. And while police are confounded as to the man’s whereabouts, amateur rabbit detectives are making surprising headway on the case.
Videos by Rare
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Chris Allieri, a “rabbit lover,” made 200 fliers about the crime. He received a tips about the suspect’s address, and “pieces started falling into place.” Others saw the gray rabbit, named Sunny, around town.
Allieri even found someone on Facebook who resembled the man on the shelter’s surveillance video. And then he tracked down an Instagram account where a man posted a photo of the rabbit hopping on a park bench at night.
“I’m in a dog run smoking bubba with a bunny,” the caption read. “Bubba” is strain of marijuana, according to The New York Times.
However, the culprit has yet to be found. Now, local residents are beginning to get upset over the lack of news regarding the perpetrator.
The 23rd Precinct in return wrote: “Ms. Odum, I’m not sure where you got your information but it’s inaccurate. Following a thorough investigation of the theft, there is now an active warrant for the perpetrator and I expect an imminent arrest. Thanks for your concern.”
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“You don’t tell a rabbit person: ‘Oh, we’re not going to be able to find her. She’s lost. Let’s move on,’” Allieri said. “We will find her.”
