Dog and car stolen from South Fulton County woman returned

SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — UPDATE: On Monday night, a day after our story aired, Channel 2's Matt Johnson learned the car and dog were returned to the woman.

A woman's dog and car was stolen from outside a South Fulton County restaurant.

The victim, Mia McKinney, spoke to Johnson on Sunday, begging the thieves to bring the dog back.

McKinney said she won't rest until she knows her dog Coco is back with her and not in the hands of thieves.

"She knows nothing about being out here on her own, and, 'I'm her momma, she knows me, and she's with some strangers," McKinney said.

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McKinney said she had stepped inside a restaurant on North Central Avenue in Hapeville Saturday night. She went to pick up some food at around 10 p.m. and let her 2-year-old Jack Russell mix rest inside the  car.

"I closed the door, locked it, it was running, so the air was on for her," she explained.

Within 4 minutes, her black Toyota Rav4 with Coco inside was gone.

"I  don't really care about my car but what are they gonna do with my dog?" the worried dog owner said.

McKinney and her friends spend most of Sunday looking around downtown Hapeville for any signs of Coco while Hapeville police investigate.

She said police told her the thieves are likely using her car to commit other crimes before they abandon it.

"My second thought was, 'Wow, I hope they don't hurt somebody else in my vehicle,'" she said.

Her SUV is keyless and that is one of the reasons she is optimistic the thieves didn't get too far.

"I hope they went until they ran out and they left her somewhere and she will be close by," she said.

Coco is microchipped with her owner's phone number on the collar.

Cox Media Group