Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 19, 1993 TAG: 9308190249
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WINCHESTER LENGTH: Medium
Not Lindsay Goldstein and Peter Arian.
The Washington, D.C., couple cut short a trip to Europe to search for Peabody in Frederick County. A dog sitter lost the 2-year-old Airedale on the first weekend in May after taking the dog with him to a cabin in the county without the owners' permission.
They have hired private investigators and offered a $1,500 reward. They have placed so many newspaper and radio advertisements that they have had to sell a car to pay for them.
They hired psychics, two of whom told them the "Front Royal mafia" had their dog. The New York psychics said they could not release more information because they feared they would be killed.
They have been ripped off and blackmailed by people claiming to know where Peabody was.
"I know a lot of people don't really understand," Goldstein said. "Peabody is my baby. He's like a child to me. He was my life. I spent most of my time with him."
A Winchester man who made arrangements with Goldstein and Arian to receive $500 in exchange for information about the animal was arrested Tuesday.
They received a call Monday from a man who told them to leave $500 in a bag in front of a department store, said Capt. Rick Seabright of the Frederick County Sheriff's Department.
The man said if they left more money the next day, he would tell them where to find Peabody.
The Sheriff's Department was immediately notified, and investigators left a bag with some money in front of the store, Seabright said.
When the man took the money and was confronted in his car by an investigator, he apparently panicked and struck the investigator as he drove away, Seabright said.
Robert J. Holton, 21, of Winchester was later caught and charged with resisting arrest, hit and run involving personal injury and obtaining money under false pretenses.
Seabright said Holton told investigators he knew nothing about Peabody's whereabouts.
Earlier, two juveniles and an adult in Front Royal were arrested and charged with extorting $1,500 from the couple after they left the money at a fast-food restaurant in Front Royal with the promise that Peabody would be returned.
The advertisements and posters have resulted in numerous phone calls and the investigation of at least 30 stray dogs, many of which do not look at all like Peabody's picture.
"It's terrible dealing with all those homeless dogs," Goldstein said. "I almost want to start a shelter. We've seen all kinds. And the people really think it's Peabody when they call."
The couple went to fairs, firehouses and schools putting up posters and trying to find information about the dog. Private investigators have been hired in Washington and in Winchester. Goldstein said she has asked NBC-TV's "Unsolved Mysteries" to air a segment about Peabody.
She said she and her boyfriend have spent "a whole, whole lot of money. I wouldn't even say. It would be too much for people to believe."
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.