West Tennessee family says someone trying to extort them for pet
TRENTON, Tenn — A family said someone is trying to extort them for money in exchange for their missing dog. Pet owner Todd Lawson said it all began with a text message. “I got a text from someone saying they know where the dog was and if we would pay them the reward they would tell us where the dog is,” Lawson said. In May, Oliver, the family’s Yorkie went missing from their yard, which they said is out of character for the dog. His kids were devastated. “It definitely broke their hearts to lose him,” Lawson said. As soon as Oliver went missing, the family put up flyers. Lawson believes the person police said is threatening them, got the number from one of the flyers. Lawson said the person started asking for more money than the reward offered from the family in exchange for the dog. When he refused, things turned sour. “The next message said ‘you better watch what you say because I know where you live.’ Then, it was ‘I know who you are’, just things like that. It just really got out of control,” Lawson said. The family then called Trenton Police. Investigators said they are trying to track the cellphone number but believe a Tracfone was used, which is harder to trace. “[It] leads use to believe she was just trying to get money. That’s a guess. She was going to tell us where he was and he probably wouldn’t be there,” Lawson said. Lawson said he and his four children just want to know if Oliver is still coming home. “Just to do that to people or keep it going or bring hope back up, I think that’s the worst part,” Lawson said. Trenton police said the person threatening this family could face charges such as harassment and extortion. If you have any information, call the Trenton Police Department (731) 855-1413.
