Texas Man Charged In Pricey Shark-napping
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SAN ANTONIO, TX (CBSMiami) - A shark-napping at a San Antonio Aquarium has a happy ending.
A surveillance camera at the aquarium captured a man reaching into a shark tank at the aquarium and pulling out a 16-inch, gray horn shark with his bare hands, then walking out of view of the camera. A man follows behind carrying what looks like a bag.
The two then return and are met by a woman, they conceal the shark in her baby stroller and roll it away.
"Once they took it out, they put it in some kind of blanket, went into a secure area of the building, and the blanket was wet you could still see the water running off it," said Leon Valley Police Chief Joseph Salvaggio.
Quick thinking employees noticed a trail of water and followed the suspects to the parking lot, they reported the truck they got into to police.
Police were able to track the shark down after seeing a posted photo of a horn shark on a San Antonio Facebook page, asking $300 dollars for it.
"And when we got into the garage and into the house it looked like almost a mock-up of here (the aquarium). A lot of different marine animals in the home. He very much knew what he was doing and kept that animal alive," said Salvaggio.
Two people reportedly confessed to stealing the shark. Gray horn sharks are estimated to be worth up to 2-thousand dollars.
"She appears very healthy, and we didn't know if we were gonna get her back," said Jamie Shank, the assistant husbandry director at the aquarium.
Aquarium employees say the shark will likely make a full recovery.
Police say, at the moment, one man has been charged and charges against the other two are pending.
