HOUSTON – A 53-year-old woman is devastated after her emotional support dog is still missing following a carjacking on New Year’s Eve outside a store in Montrose, according to the Houston Police Department.
“I haven’t slept in a week,” carjacking victim Chelsea Vogler said. “I just want my dog back. I can buy another car.”
Investigators released a photo of the suspect and 9-year-old Isabella on Monday, hoping someone will recognize them.
“She’s my emotional support dog. I was her emotional support because when she was itty bitty, when I got her, she was missing half a lung.” Vogler said.
What happened
Around 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 31, police said the woman pulled into a convenience store parking lot at the intersection of Montrose Boulevard and Westheimer Road. Vogler walked into the store to quickly ask for directions while her vehicle was still running to keep her dog comfortable.
She said that as she walked back outside, she saw a man in her vehicle, and she opened her door on the driver’s side, telling him to get out.
After a struggle, she ended up at the passenger side door, latched on to the handle.
“I said, ‘Get out of my car. Get out of my car’ ... He put it in reverse and it went back a little bit, but I would not let go ... He got it in drive and slammed it,” Vogler said.
She fell to the ground as he sped away with Isabella still inside, leaving her with cuts and bruising to her face and head that required a trip to the hospital.
“I couldn’t hold on anymore. And I hit my head and my shoulder and my leg,” Vogler said.
Several people were at the gas station who surrounded her to try and help, but she said she could barely move or speak.
She had been in the Montrose area to check out the surroundings of a new potential job, she said.
As of Monday, police said Vogler’s 2013 red two-door Honda Accord hadn’t been located. Neither has Isabella.
Vogler said she has the only key to her car, which is a push-to-start, so she can’t understand how the suspect could have made it far.
After the carjacking, she said her debit card got swiped three times and one was successful but her bank declined the others as fraud.
Isabella, 9, is described as half Maltese and half Papillon. She also has a microchip.
“It’s too cold out there for her right now and she’s only itty bitty still now,” Vogler said.
“What’s your biggest worry about her right now?” KPRC 2′s Bryce Newberry asked.
“That she’s missing me as much as I’m missing her,” Vogler said.
KPRC 2 visited the Circle K / Valero store on Monday evening, which had a well-lit parking lot and several surveillance cameras, but video of the attack was unavailable.
Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-8477 to be considered for a cash payment of up to $5,000 or submit an online tip at www.crime-stoppers.org or through the Crime Stoppers mobile app.