West Valley family reunited with stolen horse
Jul 21, 2020, 11:12 AM | Updated: 3:56 pm
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Just over a week ago a West Valley family woke up to find their horse missing even though their pasture was still locked and fenced.
But on Monday in much happier news, Jayme Alexander, the owner of the missing horse, told KSL-TV that she received a call just after 1:30 Monday morning. The police called to say they had found 11-year-old Tiempo.
“[They] said, ‘We’ve got your horse!’” Alexander said. “’Come pick him up!’”
The disappearance
On July 12, the Alexanders woke up to find Tiempo missing and after walking their property around 2800 South and 1400 West, they found a hole had been cut in their fence.
“[I] couldn’t find him and after a couple of trips around. [I] found where the fence had been cut,” Alexander said. “They had to undo the wire panels and then come cut the fence 15 times.”
A clue that led to recovering Tiempo
Alexander credits a Facebook post for helping to find Tiempo. After more than 2,000 shares, a tip was messaged to her: It was a photo of a horse that looked like Tiempo being ridden near 3500 South and 5600 West in West Valley City.
Alexander set out to see if she could find the horse but didn’t have any luck.
Hours later police called to say that they had Tiempo. The people in the photos contacted police saying that they had bought him online.
“They said that he was on KSL.com for $750. They paid for him. The person delivered him from Plain City,” Alexander said.
Alexander questions that explanation, though, citing the purchase price is well below the estimated value of Tiempo, which is between $8,000 to $10,000, according to Alexander.
The police response
Roxeanne Vainuku, West Valley City Police Department spokesperson, said detectives are looking further into the disappearance and circumstances of the horse’s disappearance.
A happy ending for Tiempo and his owners
“We were worried that he had maybe been shipped out of state. He’d been shipped down to Mexico. He’d been slaughtered and eaten,” Alexander said.
“Oh, we’re so happy to have him back!” Alexander said. “He’s happy to be back!”
He is a part of the family, and they are relieved to have Tiempo back where he belongs.
