wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |Family dog stolen in burglary found safe

NEWBERRY, SC (WIS) - A Newberry County family is happy now that their dog who disappeared from their home during a burglary has been found.

Newberry County sheriff's deputies say Bailey, a Yorkshire Terrier, was stolen during a burglary on Springhill Drive Thursday afternoon.

Sheriff Lee Foster says a citizen found Bailey wandering near a restaurant in Newberry and turned her over to Newberry Police.  The Sheriff's department returned Bailey to her family Saturday. 

Deputies  believe the dog was turned loose in the area since she was found far from the area of the burglary.

It's the latest in a series of eight  break-ins in Newberry County in the last three weeks.   This is the first time the thieves have stolen a pet, but Sheriff Lee Foster says there are no limits on what the thieves could take and where.

"They usually go through a door and use a foot and kick it in," said Foster. "Whomever's doing it is a pretty powerful individual by the way they're busting the door up."

Foster says the homes targeted are all off 176 because he says it's a highway not heavily traveled and the homes in the area are fairly isolated. Foster says the thieves strike in the early part of the day, break-in, take electronics and sometimes jewelry and guns.

"It's random" said Foster. "It's been manufactured housing it's been brand new stick built nice constructed-on-the-site home. It's no a specific type."

The burglaries may be random but all related. And the most recent, Thursday morning on Springhill road where a Bailey went missing. The family thinks she was stolen.

"I can't for the life of me think somebody would steal an animal that was inside a house," said Foster. "That was pretty low. That makes us want to catch those people all the more."

The sheriff's office released a sketch of a man they're calling a person of interest.  He was seen knocking on doors in the neighborhood sometimes passing out religious pamphlets. They're not calling him a suspect, they just want to talk to him.

Right now investigators believe the break-ins were done by two people.

"If there's something we think they've touched - a cigarette butt out of place, we pick it up and take it for analysis of DNA," said Foster.

Just because all of these related burglaries happened in one area, Sheriff Foster doesn't believe the thieves are limiting themselves.

"There's one thing for sure," he said.  "These people who are doing that aren't just victimizing the people in Newberry County. They're either going to be working in Richland, Fairfield or Union County. It's almost a given."

Foster says his deputies have increased patrols and they'll be doing undercover surveillance.  He reminds homeowners to call 911 immediately if they see anything suspicious.

If you have any information on Bailey, or any of the burglaries, contact the Newberry County Sheriff's Office at (803) 321-2222.

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