(HOUSTON) — “Tiger King” star Carole Baskin is offering a $5,000 reward for the person who helps find a tiger that has been missing since being spotted in a Houston neighborhood Sunday night.
The founder and CEO of Big Cat Rescue shared an Instagram post Thursday in which she offers the sum to “the person responsible for the immediate, safe hand over of India the Tiger.”
Two of her stipulations are that the tiger be given “to a sanctuary that is accredited by the Global Federation of [Animal] Sanctuaries” and that the “person’s efforts with law enforcement is sufficient to convict both the buyer and seller involved in the transfers of the tiger.”
Houston residents called police Sunday night around 8 p.m. after seeing a tiger roaming around their homes.
An off-duty sheriff’s deputy who lived close by arrived at the scene after getting an alert about the tiger’s presence via Nextdoor, a neighborhood-based social media app.
When the uniformed officers showed up, a man had put the tiger into a white vehicle and driven away. There was a brief pursuit, but the man got away.
Houston Police later identified the suspect as 26-year-old Victor Hugo Cuevas. He was arrested Monday night and charged with felony evading arrest for fleeing officers.
Cuevas was released on bond Wednesday. His attorney, Michael W. Elliott, told reporters the tiger was not owned by his client.
Authorities are still looking for the missing tiger.
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