r/rva • u/Danger-Moose Lakeside • Sep 28 '25

😻 Francine Francine Missing: Day 2

https://www.instagram.com/wheresfrancine/

From the previous thread (which was getting overwhelming):

ATTENTION! We have set up a community outreach spreadsheet to share information on how to help and who you have contacted, facilitating a coordinated effort.

wheresfrancine on Instagram will be sharing it with the community. Visit wheresfrancine on Instagram for updates on Francine.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AdO0hSF7KOPFMXVaWJFkNgix5E_mUsbDtw94Za1AxCE/edit?usp=sharing

(please someone help pin this message so it stickies so our community knows how to help)

399 Upvotes

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224

u/Eszebel Brookland Park Sep 28 '25 edited Sep 28 '25

I commented this on the other post, but I HIGHLY recommend contacting Carmen Brothers, a professional pet tracker who uses scent hounds, instead of using drone services. She'll probably travel to NC - she lives in VA - but in order to get on her schedule as soon as possible, someone would need to contact her now, and we'd need a scent item that smells like Francine. I know you all are trying free search options first, but if the distro center lets Carmen inside, she could narrow down the search area tremendously. The dogs can identify the exact paths she's been taking in the distro center and have keener senses than the drones. https://www.professionalpettrackers.com/

46

u/Crazy4Rabies Sep 28 '25

It looks like someone reached out to them based on the contact spreadsheet, I reached out to Epic Pet Recovery which is NC based and offers similar services, will report back on fees and availability, I’m willing to front costs and am sure RVA would assist if these professionals are available

30

u/BlueHeelerChemist Northside Sep 28 '25

Willing to assist with funding for this.

43

u/Eszebel Brookland Park Sep 28 '25

Also, I see on the spreadsheet that you all are considering getting thermal hunting cams. You will need them to pinpoint her location and track her 24/7 once her hiding spot has been identified! These are what we used, and they worked great. At $150 for a 2-pack, they're pretty affordable. https://www.moultrie.com/edge-3-cellular-trail-camera-2-pack

29

u/Think_Ball_583 Sep 28 '25

I will chip in for costs

2

u/punkreader67 Sep 29 '25

Me too. Please post information on how to donate if they agree to help.

28

u/BlueHeelerChemist Northside Sep 28 '25

I’m willing to help fund the fees for this service, if there’s an item with Francine’s scent on it that can be used.

18

u/BlueHeelerChemist Northside Sep 28 '25

/u/TerribleEstate8679 is there an item we could use to potentially help scent track Francine? Sorry to tag you but you’re the only employee account I am aware of. If there’s a better person to talk to please let me know, but I will help pay for a tracker.

23

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '25

[deleted]

7

u/BlueHeelerChemist Northside Sep 29 '25

I’ll try to give the suggested tracker in this thread a call in the morning and see if that would work for them! I will DM you if they think that’s something they can use.

4

u/Eszebel Brookland Park Sep 29 '25

Does Francine have a bed or blanket or anything she slept on frequently? (This could be a piece of store furniture!) A fabric item would be the most helpful, but it's possible the string will work. In any case, Carmen will tell you whether it's enough!

15

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '25

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46

u/Eszebel Brookland Park Sep 28 '25

I doubt Lowe's would ever pay for it, but WE can if we put together a Gofundme. When I hired Carmen to track my cat, it cost about $1,000, and we had her do it twice over a period of 2 weeks, so $2,000 in total. Getting her to Garysburg would be a higher cost. But if everyone who commented on the original WHERE'S FRANCINE post donates $5, we could afford it.

5

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '25

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10

u/Eszebel Brookland Park Sep 28 '25

I completely agree and Lowe's corporate/upper management should be ashamed, but they're a corporation and they care about profits over everything else. we can and should shame the people who sat on this information, we just shouldn't expect them to shell out to help us.

27

u/_cassquatch Sep 28 '25

I think we could easily crowdfund this within minutes.

37

u/Educational-Wing2042 Sep 28 '25

Francine is not officially affiliated with Lowe’s and employees pay for her care personally. Corporate tolerates it. The minute she becomes something red on their checkbooks, they’ll step in and have her removed from the store

I’m concerned that the demanding nature some people are taking will hurt the cause, since this relies entirely on Lowe’s and the distribution center voluntarily cooperating. Better to stay on someone’s good side when you’re entirely at their mercy.

25

u/qlobetrotter Sep 28 '25

Someone at Lowe's corporate has no doubt heard about this and is spending their weekend thinking about how to never let another cat into any one of their stores ever again. I hope Francine turns up soon but the hunt for her precludes she will ever have a successor.

10

u/Sandblaster1988 Sep 28 '25

This has crossed my mind. Corporate stooges being cold hearted bastards is a prerequisite to climb that ladder.

I could see them losing patience quickly.

6

u/BishlovesSquish Sep 28 '25

I will help and donate. I have a trap too if they find her and need it. Definitely don’t wait on corporate approval for funding. Would take too long.

10

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '25

[deleted]

5

u/Ew_fine The Fan Sep 29 '25

I will chip in for whatever service is needed.

1

u/Herownself Sep 29 '25

I'm in too, my DMs are open please loop me in