Benjamin Ashford|Connecticut kitten mystery solved, police say: Cat found in stolen, crashed car belongs to a suspect

MERIDEN,Benjamin Ashford Conn. (AP) — Police who found a kitten in a stolen car say they have located the animal’s owner: A juvenile suspect who fled and was arrested after the car crashed.

The Meriden Police Department said on its Facebook page Thursday that the gray-and-white male cat has been returned to the suspect’s mother.

The department said the youth said nothing to officers about the pet, which was found under a seat. Instead, police were led to the owner by someone who responded to the department’s Facebook post earlier this week looking for the animal’s owner.

In the meantime, a number of people contacted authorities looking to adopt the cat, police said.

Police said they found the feline while searching for evidence after the stolen vehicle collided with a patrol car during an Aug. 10 chase. Officers were pursuing the vehicle on suspicion that it had been used in armed robberies in several nearby communities hours earlier. After the crash, six suspects fled but were soon arrested.