Manhattan architect Ronnette Riley faced the unthinkable when her Maserati and beloved hairless Sphynx cat, Eilee, were stolen right from under her after a seemingly minor rear-end collision on the West Side Highway last Sunday night. According to ABC7 New York, Riley was duped by a polite couple in a black Mercedes Benz, who apologized for the incident but seized the opportunity to drive off in her luxury vehicle while she was checking for damage, leaving Riley catless and carless in a swift act of betrayal.
While the carjacking itself was a blow, Riley was most distressed about the fate of Eilee, "I was more worried about the cat than anything. They drove away so fast. Cops got there so fast," she told ABC7 New York, and her assistant, Paige Lundgren turned to social media to help find her missing cat, Eilee, while Riley dealt with the loss of her dream car, a lime green sports car she had once pushed to 170 mph. The car was later found totaled on the Whitestone Bridge, and suspects were arrested, but Eilee's whereabouts remain unknown.
Enter Inwood’s Pa'Picar restaurant owner Manuel Ortega, who came upon an oddly apparelled cat—Eilee—in front of his establishment; the Sphynx's distinctive t-shirt and eyes painting a picture of peculiarity among the urban landscape of New York, Ortega knew then this was no routine case of a stray seeking shelter. Audacy reports that in a stroke of serendipity and the connective power of the internet, Ortega’s social media post found its way to Lundgren, catalyzing a reunion between Eilee and a bereft Riley.
"The cat was dressed. The cat had like a t-shirt, like a striped t-shirt. Was a hairless cat with two different color eyes. Was a very weird cat," Ortega described Eilee's unforeseen arrival, in an interview obtained by ABC7 New York The community was skeptical of his claim, and people even offered him money for the cat. However, Ortega refused, insisting on finding Eilee's true owner despite the bizarre situation.
Although gravely disheartened by the state of her Maserati, the end of Riley's ordeal came with the safe recovery of Eilee, "I just wanted to help her as much as I could," said Paige, Riley's assistant, as noted by ABC7NY.
