UPDATE: Francine the cat has been found, will return to Richmond Lowe's
A 16-day search for Francine the cat has a happy ending — she was found in North Carolina at 4 a.m. Monday morning, and is in the process of being returned home to Richmond, where she lives at the Lowe's home improvement store.
The Lowe's corporate website gave a detailed account of the search on Monday.
“When I received the text that we got her and she was safe, I just couldn’t stop smiling,” said store employee Wayne Schneider.
He immediately jumped in the car early Monday morning to retrieve her and bring her back to the Lowe's store on West Broad Street, just north of VCU.
“She looked at us,” Schneider told the Lowe's website, “and gave this big meow like, ‘What took you so long?’”
The search drew international attention after Francine was seen boarding a truck that transported her from the Richmond store to the N.C. distribution facility.
Members of the Richmond community who have been chronicling the search and advocating for the cat's return are planning a "Francine Fest" to celebrate the news.
For the moment, they are urging supporters not to overwhelm the Lowe's store on Monday, but to await further instructions on how to visit Francine.
Original story:
After going two weeks without being seen, a Lowe's representative told members of the team searching for Francine the cat that she was spotted on Saturday inside a distribution center in Garysburg, North Carolina.
Francine has gained international fame since going missing, with Richmonders spreading the story of how a stray cat who moved into a hardware store became an unofficial mascot for the city.
Michael Phillips
After the sighting, a team from Richmond visited the distribution center on Sunday in an attempt to coax Francine out of hiding. They were unsuccessful, but left several traps in the area where she was last seen.
An Instagram page has been established to provide details on the search, which will continue Monday morning.
Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org.
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