A Benton City woman deployed the social media posse in a viral search for her stolen horse.
Joyce Cotten-Roberts reported her 4-month old bay filly was swiped over night Saturday from Benton City.
Benton County Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Caughey said it’s not clear if the foal is missing or stolen. Deputies are investigating.
Either way, Cotten-Roberts’ call for help went viral.
Her Sunday afternoon message was shared more than 2,615 times and brought nearly 300 comments from people across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California, and reaching as far away as Texas and Alberta, Canada.
The brown filly, named Kit Kat, has a sock on her left hind leg, and a white blaze that looks like a star, which stays wide down her nose.
She asked her Facebook friends to scour Craigslist ads around the region.
Then, her friends started spreading the word: “(I’m) begging and pleading for extra help for this little filly and her owner... Please, please, please, everyone. Share, share, share,” said one friend.
The cyber posse tracked the filly from Benton City to a potential sighting in Pendleton.
“This is the second message I’ve received about a foal being loaded into a trailer in Pendleton,” she wrote.
The message, copied into Cotten-Roberts’ Facebook post, detailed someone seeing a filly fighting being loaded into a trailer in a McDonald’s parking lot.
Cotten-Roberts is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the return of her foal. Anyone with information to share, is asked to call 509-430-1247 or 509-430-1334.
Her subsequent posts drew hundreds of responses and more than a 1,000 additional shares.
Her most recent message to the people who took the animal — bring it back, the cyber posse will find you.
“This search is going viral!” warned her Facebook message.
Source: Tri-City Herald, http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article164686282.html
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