Widower, 80, Pays $10,000 Ransom After His Dog Disappears

[matcom]

:grr:

<snip>

The voice on the phone was mean and demanding: Turn over $10,000 or the dog dies.

So Frank Compton, 80, a Valley Springs widower and retired fire warden, withdrew a good part of his savings last week in the hope of getting back his beloved terrier, Sandy.

The dog had gone missing the day before, Compton said, and he and a neighbor had tacked up fliers around the neighborhood, about 25 miles northeast of Stockton.

But when he drove to a remote spot along the Mokelumne River, as instructed by the dognapper, a man confronted him with a knife, grabbed the roll of $100 bills and fled without returning the dog, Compton said.

Despairing of ever seeing his beloved 10-year-old terrier mix again, Compton said he searched unsuccessfully along the river near a state fish hatchery before returning home. But hours later, he heard a car door slam and found Sandy coming toward him across his backyard.

http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-me-ransom29jul29.story

[WillParkinson]

1. Oh, thank you!

I'm glad it had a happy ending.

[olddem43]

2. I hope they find this guy - I would like to

pay him to kidnap my neighbor's dog that barks all the time. But only if he doesn't return it.

[Dying Eagle]

3. Christ,

There is a spacial place in Hell for people like that.

[xchrom]

4. i'm so glad to hear about others

like me -- i'd do the same damn thing.

[Q3JR4]

5. Me too.

As far as I'm concerned, my dog is a member of my family.