BELL BUCKLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — More than 30 pets have been reported missing in Bedford County.
Bell Buckle city officials say 32 cats have gone missing over the past month. The circumstances surrounding the disappearances were unknown.
“It started off with a couple of cats, going on Facebook saying, 'Hey, have you seen my cat?' Which turned into, 'No, but my cat is missing as well,' and it has no escalated. It went to 16, then it jumped to 23, as of today we’ve jumped to 32," Heather Williams of the Bell Buckle Chamber of Commerce said. “It’s strange.”
One of the people who lost their cats is Tori Taff. She was one of the first people to post about her cat on Facebook, and she has been keeping count of how many cats have gone missing.
While there are plenty of theories out there, including a human stealing the cats, a predator killing the cats, and many other scenarios, at this point there is no evidence to go by.
“We’re talking a tremendous amount of cats only with no bodies or carcasses being found all within a relatively short amount of time. 4 weeks, 3 to 4 weeks," Taff said. “We’re just concerned and it’s a mystery. We’re trying to figure out what’s going on."
The city sent out an alert to residents to let them know about the disappearances, and the hope is that no more cats will go missing, and answers will be found.
“Really it was just getting the word out to everybody and saying please put your pets up. You know, make sure you know where they are, make them safe, if you see anything, just let us know," Williams said.
Anyone with information should call Police Chief Tommy Wiley or Mayor Lokey.
