(STORY UPDATED BELOW NOV. 8)
Flea markets are known for having a variety of items, but live animals are not usually one of them. One local flea market found out the hard way some people think anything is up for grabs.
Flea Hag Flea & Tiques, 112 State Highway T, Branson, shared on their Facebook page someone came into their business on Friday, Oct. 21, and stole one of the business’s resident cats.
“April Mae was the one who was stolen,” Owner Teresa Bangma told Branson Tri-Lakes News. “My second cat, Cracker Jax, likes to go in and out of the store, but April Mae never went outside. When we would get here in the morning, I’d open the car door and she’d jump out and make a bee line for the door. She didn’t like being outside. She’d stay mainly on the counter, or lay in the lobby where it was sunny and people would be coming in.”
Bangma said April Mae was last seen after her 1:30 p.m. feeding time.
“After they were done they went about their business,” Bangma said. “At 3:30 p.m., one of my vendors came in and said they didn’t see April Mae anywhere. So we think she was taken sometime between 1:30 and 3:30.”
She said they searched the building, including all of April Mae’s known hiding spots, and couldn’t find her.
“People would always comment on how beautiful April Mae was and she was very friendly,” Bangma said. “She would let people pick her up and pet her. We got her at the Taney County Animal Shelter, which we support every month through an adoption center where all the proceeds from the section go to the shelter. She’s been here almost two years.”
She said Cracker Jax has been walking around the house, crying, looking for April Mae. She said Jax is about six months younger, and she saw April Mae as a mother figure because April looked like Jax’s mother.
Bangma said she’s been in business for about seven years in their location and theft hasn’t been a significant problem for them.
She said the store’s security cameras were not at an angle to see who may have taken April Mae from the lobby area, and the store was so busy at the time of the theft she missed the thief.
“I had one customer I noticed standing there holding something while I was working with some other customers,” Bangma said. “But she left while I was checking out those folks, and left her item in a cart. She didn’t want to wait five minutes while I helped someone else. I was by myself that day and I was really busy.”
Bangma said while they’re not officially offering a reward, if someone uncovers who took April Mae and returns the cat, they’ll find a way to reward them for it.
UPDATE NOV. 8
After the Branson Tri-Lakes News went to print, April Mae was returned to the store.
“My nephew next door has a Ring security camera and noticed someone dropped the cat off around 11:30 last night,” Bangma said. “I was ecstatic to see her this morning because as I was turning on the lights in the house, and I heard this meow, and I’m like ‘am i hearing things?’ I said ‘April?’ I looked all over and everywhere I walked the sound followed me. Then I realized she was under the house. When we looked at the camera, she was dropped off in the front of the house, and there’s a crawl space under the house.”
Bangma said the cat was malnourished and had an abscess on her neck, and she’s guessing it’s why they brought the cat back. Despite April Mae’s return, the two cats will remain at home rather than coming back into the store.