INDIAN RIVER COUNTY —There is no cat killer in Vero Lake Estates despite emails and reports to the contrary circulating on social media, according to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
Both the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office and the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County have been working since Friday to run down the rumors and investigate, according to Ilka Daniel, of the Humane Society.
Daniel said she has spoken to one alleged cat victim’s owner, who has so far declined to file a police report. The owner also declined to have the cat’s body exhumed – it had been buried as of Friday.
She said both agencies would be more than willing to investigate if there were a filed police report and if those with first-hand knowledge of a cat killing came forward.
So far, neither has happened.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Thomas Raulen had the following to say about the emails circulating:
“I was asked to research this on Friday (Feb. 1) due to a similar but not as detailed Facebook post that was apparently spreading. The Sheriff’s Office has had no reports of such activity. I also checked with animal control and they too have not had any calls about someone killing cats.
“The … email has a lot of features of typical Internet rumors. The fact that there is talk of soliciting money for a reward fund makes it sound like the groundwork for a financial scam.”
An email has been circulating, along with posts on social media sites that there is a man in Vero Lake Estates brutally killing residents’ cats and leaving their bodies in the driveways. The email goes on to suggest that a collection be taken up to offer a monetary reward for information leading to the man’s capture.
Daniel said that a reward for information would be handled through Crime Stoppers if a report were filed, so there is no need for fund-raising.
She said that anyone who has first-hand knowledge or has witnessed an attempted cat slaying needs to call either the Sheriff’s Office or the Humane Society.
The Sheriff’s Office can be reached at (772) 772-569-6700; Humane Society (772) 388-3331.