‘Harper’s a little lover’: Owner searches for dog after vehicle stolen

On a windy Wednesday morning, Justin Inman walked the neighborhood around the 2500 block of 17th Avenue in Minneapolis asking anyone he passed if they saw his dog, Harper.

"Harper’s a little lover, she would have trusted that guy as much as she’d trust her parents," Inman said.

On Monday, Inman said he parked his Chevrolet Tahoe in a downtown Hudson parking lot on Second Street and left it running to keep his two dogs warm around 2:30 pm.

"You know, obviously, the feeling of guilt,” Inman said. “I shouldn’t have left the car unlocked but you don’t expect that in the middle of the day in Hudson, Wisconsin."

Inman shared a video with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS from a restaurant that he said shows a man get into the running SUV and drive away. One of his dogs jumped out, but Harper, a pug/Boston Terrier, did not.

Inside the stolen SUV, Inman said he was able to track his laptop that pinged locations to have been areas that he’s focused search efforts.

Inman showed 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS a map that pinged the vehicle in the 1000 Block of County Road E in St. Paul, in Maplewood near I-35E South, and in the 2500 Block of 17th Avenue South on Monday before it crashed in the 10100 Block of Butternut Street in Coon Rapids.

Bradley Bear Downwind, 29, of Chetek, Wis., was arrested a short time later in Blaine and is charged with motor vehicle theft.

But Harper, the 3-year-old dog, has not yet been found.

“I’m sure she’s cold and scared right now if she is still out there,” Inman said.

The dog’s owner is asking residents in the areas mentioned above to look under porches or in small spaces to see if she might have burrowed up at night.

Inman plans to offer a reward for Harper’s return. A text line is also being used for tips at 715-781-9145.