"Optimus," Siamese, Lilac Point, Menlo Park - Found!

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Three days after the search, on Monday morning, I received the following email:

"Jackie, 

I wanted to let you know that Optimus made it home last night at around 11 pm. His feet are bloody, and he's dirty as heck, but he's happy to be home and the vet said he's hurt, but will make a full recovery. 

I want to thank you so much for doing what you do, and helping to reunite families. I truly believe it was because we tracked his scent and gave him a path to follow that he made it back home. I can't thank you enough.

Thanks. A LOT."

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Search Details:

Optimus is a neutered, indoor/outdoor, six month old Lilac point Siamese. He is wearing a collar with an ID tag, but he is not microchipped. He was last seen on a Saturday. We did our search on the following Friday. There were no sightings of Optimus after he went missing.

We followed a track that ran for over seven miles. Initially, it looked like Optimus may have been chased away. There is a large and expensive creek a half a block away from his home where nocturnal critters hide. There were also indications that he may have been picked up, but at the end of the search, my guess is that he actually was alone and had traveled that distance away and eventually made his way back. He was missing for seven days when he came home on his own. 

View Optimus Menlo Park in a larger map

Created by My Tracks on Android.

Total distance: 12.55 km (7.8 mi)
Total time: 3:34:34
Moving time: 2:02:37
Average speed: 3.51 km/h (2.2 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 6.14 km/h (3.8 mi/h)
Max speed: 12.50 km/h (7.8 mi/h)
Average pace: 17.10 min/km (27.5 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 9.77 min/km (15.7 min/mi)
Min pace: 4.80 min/km (7.7 min/mi)
Max elevation: 48 m (158 ft)
Min elevation: -9 m (-29 ft)
Elevation gain: 474 m (1556 ft)
Max grade: 0 %
Min grade: 0 %
Recorded: 3/23/2012 11:50 AM