Owner of missing Scituate service dog asks for local surveillance footage to aid in search

SCITUATE, R.I. (WLNE) — The owner of a service dog, reported missing and believed to be stolen, is asking for surveillance footage to help locate him.

Melissa Devargas identified her pup as a one-year-old “English Cream” Golden Retriever named Aladdin.

She told ABC6 News that Aladdin ran away while his co-owner watched him near their home on Scituate Avenue Monday afternoon.

The “Fi” branded GPS tracking collar on Aladdin was active at the time that Aladdin ran away. It was then Melissa said, they started the search.

After finding Aladdin’s collar discarded in the woods near the Snake Hill Road intersection in Killingly Connecticut, Melissa filed a police report with Rhode Island State Police.

Melissa Devargas shared these photos of the location where the collar was found and the collar itself.

In the report, she said she believes Aladdin was stolen because he would not have been able to remove the collar without help.

A representative at “Fi” shared the exact coordinates where Aladdin was last pinged. The timestamps at each coordinate suggest Aladdin traveled almost 18 miles between 2:50 p.m. and 3:20 p.m.

These are the last known coordinates where Aladdin’s collar was pinged, starting in Scituate and ending in Killingly, Connecticut.

In an email to Melissa, representatives from “Fi” said, “based on the distance covered between 2:50 p.m. and 3:20 p.m., and reviewing the number of steps recorded by the collar during this timeframe, we believe your conclusion that Aladdin was traveling in a car to be correct.”

Melissa is asking anyone with surveillance footage from any of the marked areas to review the footage from May 1 for any suspicious activity.

Anyone with information regarding Aladdin’s whereabouts can share it on the “Find Aladdin” Facebook page.

Tips can also be submitted to Rhode Island State Police at (401) 444-1000.