A Los Angeles County woman has been left distraught after her cat was apparently stolen by an Amazon delivery driver. The incident was captured on a surveillance camera at her home in Lakewood around 6:15 p.m. on December 11. Diane Huff-Medina shared the troubling footage, which shows the driver petting the cat, named Piper, before attempting to and eventually succeeding in picking her up by the scruff of her neck and walking away to his vehicle.
In a statement to CBS Los Angeles, Huff-Medina said, "She's a friendly cat. She'll come up and talk to you." The video suggests a distressing scenario as the driver can be seen first petting Piper, and then, after the cat appears to resist, decisively grabbing her and carrying her off. "Then he just kinda more aggressively grabs her and carries her off like a raccoon or something. ... It didn't look like he was trying to save her, I don't think," Huff-Medina added.
The Amazon driver, although identified by the company, has still not been located. In a comment to KTLA, the cat's owner has pleaded, "We just want her back home safely." The footage has been shared online in an effort to help find Piper and bring her home. Amazon is supposedly working on the investigation; however, their spokesperson directed inquiries to a third-party partner that they claim employs the driver.
Huff-Medina took action immediately and contacted the local authorities. According to ABC7, she has filed a report with the Lakewood Sheriff's Station but was informed that investigating the case could take weeks, if not months.
