The Michigan couple whose car and 12-year-old dog, Mattie, were stolen from the U City Loop on Nov. 7 continue their North St. Louis search for their little dog. The latest, from a Nov. 29 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article by Norm Parish:
Just as they have done many times over the last three weeks, Alice and Thomas Matthews of Grand Rapids, Mich., on Tuesday worked the streets and alleys of north St. Louis in search of their missing dog, Mattie.
And the results were same as they have been since Nov. 7, when the Matthewses' car, with Mattie inside, was stolen: No sightings, despite a $3,000 reward.
On Tuesday afternoon in a dusty St. Louis alley, Alice Matthews approached a teenaged male with a flier of Mattie, while her husband stapled a flier to a telephone pole.
"I haven't seen him today," the youth said. "But I saw him two weeks ago."
The Matthewses continued looking.
Their 2001 Buick LeSabre and Mattie were taken Nov. 7 while the Matthewses, on vacation, were window-shopping in the University City Loop.
The car turned up Nov. 9 in Cape Girardeau, Mo., after a police chase. But there was no sign of a dog.
Two St. Louis men, James Butler Jr., 21, and Donnell Riley, 22, have been charged in the case.
Both men deny taking the car and deny knowing anything about a 14-inch-tall, white, fluffy, mixed-breed dog, Cape Girardeau police said.
The couple was tipped to look for their dog on Harney Avenue, just west of Calvary Cemetery in north St. Louis. On Nov. 10, they found their dog's crate near an alley behind a vacant house in the 5900 block of Harney.
The couple left the crate, filled with the dog's towels, at the site, hoping it will return. They say they have received dozens of sightings of the Mattie — mostly in the Jennings and nearby St. Louis area.
The couple looked for their pet for a few days after it went missing and returned to St. Louis area on Thanksgiving to continue the search. The couple will be here until Sunday.
They are getting help from Stray Rescue, the Missouri Humane Society and about a dozen other volunteers.
"I feel for them," said Yvonne Belosi, 41, a nurse who travels nearly an hour from Hillsboro to help with the search. "They lost their car. They lost their dog. I just wanted to help them."
The Matthewses said they will continue looking for Mattie as long as they keep getting leads.
Thomas, 53, is an accountant, and his wife, Alice, 52, is a surgical technician.
"We were absolutely devastated," said Alice Matthews about the loss of their dog of about 12 years. "We just feel helpless. We first got Mattie for our daughter but he is now part of our family. But as long as there is hope we will keep looking with the help of volunteers."
Anyone with information about Mattie can call 314-369-2784.
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