The Houston Police Department successfully located a missing tiger that alarmed neighbors earlier in the week at the same time that law enforcement was also searching for a man out on bond for murder.
The large cat was found “unharmed” and was transported to the BARC Houston, the city’s animal shelter, authorities wrote in a tweet on Saturday. The Bengal tiger’s apprehension comes four days after it roamed wild through a suburban area as onlookers took video.
Gia Cuevas and her husband, Victor Hugo Cuevas, were identified as the owners of the animal in a press conference. Neither will face charges regarding the ownership, although possession of the cat is illegal.
HOUSTON POLICE SEARCH FOR TIGER AND OWNER OUT ON BOND FOR MURDER CHARGE
The department posted a video of the elusive tiger drinking from a bottle shortly after it was found.
HPD Major Offenders Commander Ron Borza is relieved “India” the ? is now safe: https://t.co/3w2CZznKu9 pic.twitter.com/RiNviPFzq3
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 16, 2021
On Monday, Wes Manion, a Waller County deputy, responded to a call about the animal on the loose and approached the Cuevas’ home with his gun drawn before the cat was brought inside. However, when Houston Police Department officers arrived on the scene, Victor Hugo Cuevas, who was later found to be out on bond for murder, purportedly put the tiger in his Jeep Grand Cherokee and fled the scene.
He was released from jail in November, though deputies at the time gave little information about the circumstances surrounding the case.
Apparently there’s a tiger loose on my parents’ West Houston street? pic.twitter.com/TgdIiPSPKx
— robwormald (@robwormald) May 10, 2021
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Commander Ron Borza initially sought the man’s apprehension for possessing the animal, a crime in the area. Cuevas was also thought to have had two monkeys, both of which would have been legal to own if they weighed under 30 pounds.
“If that tiger was to get out and to start doing some damage yesterday, I’m sure one of these citizens would have shot the tiger,” Borza said at the time. “We had plenty of neighbors out here with guns, and we don’t want to see that. It’s not the animal’s fault. It’s the breeder’s fault.”
