Southeast
Missing dog in Virginia captured after 6 months on the run: 'Almost lost hope'
When Samantha Paulino of Arlington, Virginia, adopted a rescue dog from South Korea, she had no idea that her new pet would survive for six months on the run by herself, eluding attempts to rescue her along the way.
Paulino’s dog, Autumn, arrived in the United States in Sept. 2023. From the beginning, it was clear to the owner that Autumn had anxiety and “a tendency to let loose and just wanting to be independent.”
Much of Autumn’s history before her rescue is unknown, Paulino told Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview. (See the video at the top of this article.)
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The dog was estimated to be about 2 or 3 years old when she was adopted, and her breed is described as a “Finnish spitz mix.”
“They knew that she was found in the streets [of South Korea],” Paulino said.
Autumn was adopted by Samantha Paulino of Arlington, Virginia, after the dog was rescued from the streets of South Korea. (Samantha Paulino/@findingautumn_)
While Paulino experienced some of the typical growing pains associated with new dog ownership, she thought things had improved considerably by Dec. 2023.
“She was starting to lick me, show affection. She was starting to follow me and wanting to go on walks with me,” Paulino said.
Yet on Dec. 28, 2023, something spooked Autumn while on a walk in Arlington’s Virginia Square neighborhood — and she took off.
Despite the dog’s small size and weight – only about 12 pounds – nobody could catch her.
Despite her small size and weight – only about 12 pounds – nobody could catch her after that.
“She’s a speedster. She very much runs and speeds through everything,” Paulino said.
“So, if she gets loose and you try to chase her, she gets more frantic and just runs faster.”
Samantha Paulino of Arlington, Virginia jumped into action once her dog went missing. She printed flyers, alerted animal control authorities and posted about her missing dog on Instagram. (Fox News Digital)
With the dog gone, Paulino jumped into action immediately — printing flyers, alerting animal control authorities and posting about her missing dog on the Instagram account @findingAutumn_.
Sightings of Autumn were reported within days of her escape, but clever and speedy Autumn was always able to stay just out of reach of her would-be rescuers.
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At the end of December, Autumn was spotted near Arlington National Cemetery, and after that, there were basically no sightings for about a month.
“I can’t lie,” said Paulino. “I almost, you know, lost hope at that point.”
But then, in early February, a woman named Katie contacted Paulino to say that she thought she’d spotted Autumn at Arlington National Cemetery. The woman had been performing in a military band.
Autumn is shown here in both images. In early February, a woman said she thought she spotted Autumn at Arlington National Cemetery. (Samantha Paulino/@findingautumn/Animal Welfare League of Arlington)
Katie told Paulino she’d seen one of the lost dog flyers and was “100% sure” the dog she spotted was Autumn.
Autumn had made a home for herself at nearby Fort Myer, an Army post.
As it turns out, Autumn had made a home for herself at nearby Fort Myer, an Army post near Arlington National Cemetery.
Katie, a member of the military, was able to post Autumn’s lost dog flyers throughout Fort Myer because Paulino, a civilian, was not able to get on the base to do so.
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“By the time Katie started posting flyers on the base, people on the base had started figuring out that, ‘Oh, she’s not a base dog,’” Paulino said.
“People from the military live there, so they thought that maybe she was just a dog being let loose,” she said.
Once it was clear to residents of Fort Myer that Autumn was a lost dog with an owner who very much missed her, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA) and its animal control team got involved.
After AWLA officials determined Autumn’s patterns and habits, they tried to lure her into a trap. Autumn, however, was too smart for their tactics. (Animal Welfare League of Arlington)
“They wouldn’t be able to invest their resources if there haven’t been accurate sightings of her,” Paulino said.
With the consistent sightings, the AWLA was able to establish Autumn’s patterns and habits and work from there to try to bring her home.
A representative from the AWLA told Fox News Digital in an email about the lengths the organization went to rescue Autumn.
“We felt confident that we could confine her.”
“We dedicated ourselves to tending to Autumn’s needs twice a day, going on-base (with permission) to feed her at her established feeding station, observing the area for her footprints and further familiarizing ourselves with her routines,” animal control services coordinator Anna Barrett said on behalf of the AWLA.
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After nearly six months of tracking and observing Autumn, “we reached that critical point when we felt confident that we could confine her,” Barrett said.
Trapping Autumn, despite her fairly small size, posed a challenge.
“Autumn would not be tricked into going inside a trap no matter what delicious treat sat just beyond the trip plate,” Barrett said. Instead, Autumn would sit on “her hill” and watch as her rescuers tried in vain to get her to (quite literally) take the bait.
“Autumn would not be tricked into going inside a trap no matter what delicious treat sat just beyond the trip plate.”
“Often, we’d sit quietly in our vehicles from afar and watch each other,” Barrett said.
The AWLA tried almost everything to catch Autumn — with no success.
Autumn even managed to evade “prototype traps that haven’t been commercially produced yet,” Paulino said.
Finally, using a “trap inside a trap,” Autumn fell for it on June 11, Paulino said.
A regular “box trap” was placed inside a “playpen type” of trap, she said, and her dog was finally captured.
Autumn is seen here after her long-awaited homecoming after spending months on the run. (Samantha Paulino/@findingautumn_)
And despite Autumn’s reticence to be captured, “once trapped, Autumn settled near to her rescuers, seemingly relieved that the long, lonely struggle had finally come to an end,” Barrett told Fox News Digital.
Autumn spent the night with the AWLA to — as Paulino described it — “decompress” from her six months on the run and then was finally reunited with her on Wednesday, June 12.
“It’s been a real process,” Paulino said. “It took a village to really get to the point where we are now.”
Even though Autumn spent nearly six months away from home, a veterinarian checked her out and found she was no worse for wear, Paulino said.
The next couple of weeks, as Autumn gets reacquainted to living in a house and with an owner, will be crucial, Paulino said. She is continuing to work with the AWLA to help Autumn transition into being a pet again.
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“She was the hardest, most difficult catch that they’ve ever had in [AWLA Chief of Animal Control] Jen [Toussaint]’s career,” said Paulino. “So they’re very invested in making sure that she doesn’t escape again because, especially for this next two weeks, she might really want to be out again.”
Autumn is now wearing a GPS tracker, just in case, and will be double-leashed for her walks going forward, she said.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Florida driver hits student with her truck, covers license plate before fleeing, deputies say
A Florida woman was arrested after she allegedly struck a teenager who was crossing the road with her truck, covered her license plate and sped off.
Sarah Wright, 37, was arrested Thursday and charged with leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and driving with a suspended license.
The crash happened shortly before 4 p.m. at the intersection of Gage Avenue and Noah Street in Deltona, Florida, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
The victim, a 16-year-old boy, was riding his scooter home from Pine Ridge High School when he was struck by a black Chevrolet Silverado as he was using the crosswalk, the sheriff’s office said.
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Sarah Wright, 37, is facing charges of leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and driving with a suspended license. (Flagler County Jail)
The teenager fell to the ground, resulting in a serious laceration to the back of his head as well as an arm injury, but he remained alert and conscious after the incident.
A witness reported that she was checking her mailbox nearby when she heard the crash. She told investigators that the suspect, later identified as Wright, exited her truck after the crash and checked on the boy before she went back to her vehicle and covered her license plate with paper and tape.
But the witness still managed to see the first character of her tag. A neighborhood Ring camera also captured the truck fleeing the scene.
A witness managed to see the first character on the truck’s tag and a neighborhood Ring camera captured the vehicle fleeing the scene. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
The victim and the witness were also able to provide a detailed description of the suspect.
Officials were then able to locate a suspect vehicle captured on a nearby License Plate Reader camera within minutes.
Wright was found in Flagler County and taken into custody with assistance from Florida Highway Patrol and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
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Sarah Wright was booked into the Flagler County Jail on a $3,500 bond. (iStock)
She was booked into the Flagler County Jail on a $3,500 bond.
The teenage victim required staples for the laceration and treatment for his arm injury, but he is expected to make a full recovery.
Read the full article from Here
A child was hospitalized on Saturday after being hit by a drone that was part of an Orlando, Florida holiday drone show.
According to the Orlando Fire Department, a 7-year-old boy was transported to the hospital because of injuries sustained from the falling drones, FOX 35 in Orlando reported.
In a video posted online by X user MosquitoCoFl, hundreds of drones being used as part of an aerial light show appeared to be flying into position before several started falling from the sky before slamming to the ground.
A man could be heard saying to children nearby, “Oh no! I don’t believe they’re supposed to be falling.”
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Several drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, sending the unmanned aerial objects crashing to the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
Geese also appear on the water, flapping their wings to try and get out of the way of the chaotic scene.
City officials told the station the holiday drone show was permitted by the FAA.
Still, after one drone show went wrong, the city chose to cancel the second that night at 8 p.m. due to “technical difficulties.”
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Several drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, sending the unmanned aerial objects crashing to the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
The FAA told Fox News Digital it will investigate the cause of the drone show malfunction.
“Several small drones collided and fell into a crowd during a holiday drone show over [Eola] Lake in Orlando, Florida,” the FAA said. “The incident occurred around 6:45 p.m. local time on Saturday, December 21.”
According to the agency, drone arrays and light shows are subject to FAA regulations and typically require a waiver to a regulation that prohibits operating more than one drone at a time.
For each drone show application, the FAA looks at things like the software controlling the drones, procedures for setting up safe and restricted areas to keep people a safe distance from the show, procedures if drones fail, and procedures for when an aircraft gets too close to the show.
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Several drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, sending the unmanned aerial objects crashing to the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
Additionally, the FAA reviews how the operator will keep the drones inside a confined area using Geofencing, and whether the operator has an adequate number of people to run the show.
For the second year, the City of Orlando used Sky Elements Drones as its vendor to operate the drones, the station reported.
Sky Elements Drones did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter.
In a statement to Fox 35, the vendor said, “Sky Elements Drones wants to extend our sincere hope for a full and speedy recovery to those impacted at our Lake Eola show in Orlando on Saturday, Dec. 21.
“The well-being of our audience is our utmost priority, and we regret any distress or inconvenience caused,” the company continued. “We are diligently working with the FAA and City of Orlando officials to determine the cause and are committed to establishing a clear picture of what transpired. Millions of people see our shows annually, and we are committed to maintaining the highest safety regulations set forth by the FAA.”
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Florida boy has open heart surgery after being hit by drone at holiday show, parents say, NTSB investigating
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating an accident in which a 7-year-old Florida boy was struck by at least one drone at a holiday airshow over the weekend, resulting in him having to undergo open-heart surgery.
The NTSB on Wednesday said it was investigating the Saturday night malfunction at an aerial light show in Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando.
Adriana Edgerton and Jessica Lumsden, parents of Alexander, said one of the red and green-lit drones struck him and knocked him out upon impact, causing a chest injury, Fox Orlando reported.
Hundreds of drones being used as part of a Saturday night aerial light show in Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando appeared to be flying into position before several started falling from the sky before slamming to the ground, according to videos posted online.
DRONE MYSTERY: NEW JERSEY HOMEOWNERS THREATEN TO TAKE MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS IF GOVERNMENT DOESN’T ACT
Alexander, a 7-year-old boy, has undergone heart surgery after he was struck by a falling drone during a holiday airshow in Orlando, his parents said. (Fox Orlando )
“Before they went down, the green one went straight at us. I went to the left. My son went to the right, and it hit my son,” Lumsden told the news outlet.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the boy’s parents.
The city canceled the show after the drones crashed.
“Due to technical difficulties, the 8 p.m. Holiday Drone Show at Lake Eola has been canceled. We apologize for any inconvenience,” the city posted on X.
MYSTERY DRONES COULD BE IDENTIFIED FASTER USING NEW DETECTION TOOL, BUT FAA LACKS RESOURCES
Several drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, sending the unmanned aerial objects crashing to the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
It was not clear what led to the drone difficulties.
The vendor for the drone show, Sky Elements Drones, told the news outlet it wanted to extend “our sincere hope for the full and speedy recovery to those impacted” at the show.
“The well-being of our audience is of the upmost priority, and we regret any distress or inconvenience caused,” the company said. “We are diligently working with the FAA and City of Orlando officials to determine the cause and are committed to establishing a clear picture of what transpired. Millions of people see our shows annually, and we are committed to maintaining the highest safety regulations set forth by the FAA.”
Several drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, sending the unmanned aerial objects crashing to the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the malfunction.
Drone arrays and light shows are subject to FAA regulations and typically require a waiver to a regulation that prohibits operating more than one drone at a time, the agency said.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
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