Missing Macaw Back Home After Pet Store Tips Police

Sun., Nov. 9, 1997

From Staff Reports

A missing macaw is back in his cage - after being forced by thieves to fly the coop.

Thieves broke into a backyard aviary and stole the bird, valued at several thousand dollars, Spokane police said Saturday.

But when a man bought a $600 bird cage at a local pet store and mentioned he was buying a pricey parrot, the owner called police. They tracked down the cage buyer and found 6-year-old Sam unruffled and unharmed.

The man told police he bought Sam for $1,100 from a man in Chattaroy. The burglary occurred Thursday in the 3300 block of East Carlisle.

A witness told police he saw two or three young people running from a shed in his neighbor’s back yard about 9:30 p.m. They disappeared under a bridge at Upriver and Ralph, the man said.

The owner of the shed, which serves as an aviary, checked the building and found the lock had been cut off the door. Further investigation revealed one of his three macaws was missing.

It looked as if the thieves had tried to break open two other cages, police said. , DataTimes

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