Man sought after scamming, harassing owners of missing pets

Deputies are investigating a man who is using social media to harass and scam people out of money whose pets are missing.

Jan said it's been a month since her cat Pluto went missing and has covered her neighborhood with fliers, hoping for his safe return.

"It's hard and this relivable nightmare every day as a normal thing and then this happens," said Jan.

Jan declined to share her last name, believes the man found her on Craigslist and told her family he had Pluto but wouldn't give him up until he got paid double the reward money.

"He just wouldn't leave us alone," she said.

He even sent text messages that he would harm the cat. One of the text messages read in part, "...Pluto is still in the trunk and the car just ran outta of gas. Hurry its hot and he is not making as much noise now."
 
"Anything to put fear in you to get you to where he wants you. It's all about the money," said Jan.

Deputies said Jan isn't the only one being harassed. The man contacted a woman in Edgewater who lost her cat just days ago. He even sent sexually explicit messages.

Jan said she knew the man was lying and went to authorities.

"People like this are evil. I'm on TV I'm not going to say it. I just want to catch this guy," she said.

Deputies said it'll be hard to catch the man because he used burner phones, which makes it nearly impossible to track the person down.