"Sam," DSH, Black, Monterey

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Search details:

Sam is a 14 pound, four year old, indoor/outdoor, all black DSH. When he went missing  he was not wearing a collar, but he was microchipped. 

Sam was last seen on Monday, September 30 at 9 PM, as he was let out the front door. He never came back the next morning, and they started looking for him. Even after an extensive search of the area and phone calls sent out to over 1200 houses in the surrounding area, there were no sightings of Sam. We came out to do the search the following Saturday, October 5. 

After checking the surrounding neighborhood, we found a tracking leading out of the neighborhood. After about a half hour, it appeared to me that Sam was inside a vehicle and his scent was coming out, but Sam's people said he would never go near a car. At one point, the scent went off suddenly to the right and through a small "coastal forest" that appeared to surround a gated community. Eventually, we got to the edge of the gated community and we were back out into the regular neighborhood. To me it appears that Sam escaped from the vehicle which was carrying him back at the point where the forest started. Especially since at this point was the entrance to the gated community and somebody who was entering would have had to stop and enter a code to enter through the vertical gate bar. There couls also have been more than one vehicle lined up to enter, causing an additional delay. Sam's people continue to say that Sam would never go near a car. The car could have been a type of car with an opening like a truck, and the driver probably never knew that Sam was in the back. 

After leaving the gate community, we followed the track around Monterey, crossing many busy roads, eventually leading back to a street parallel his home. However, since that road had no direct connection to his neighborhood, he would never have seen his house.

We continued the search until it was stopped by Sam's people at the four hour mark. They said they would continue to look for him. 

I believe that Sam was originally chased out of the area by either another cat or wildlife like a raccoon, and then was carried for a short while in a car, probably when Sam jumped into it to escape the predator. Both Sam's people said that there were existing issues with both in the area, and Sam had come home in the past with scratches and minor wounds. 

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Name: Sam Monterey
Activity type: walking
Description: -
Total distance: 9.34 km (5.8 mi)
Total time: 3:01:16
Moving time: 1:51:56
Average speed: 3.09 km/h (1.9 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 5.01 km/h (3.1 mi/h)
Max speed: 7.93 km/h (4.9 mi/h)
Average pace: 19:25 min/km (31:14 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 11:59 min/km (19:17 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 7:34 min/km (12:11 min/mi)
Max elevation: 135 m (442 ft)
Min elevation: 17 m (54 ft)
Elevation gain: 173 m (568 ft)
Max grade: 11 %
Min grade: -12 %
Recorded: 10/5/2013 12:57pm