RICHMOND, Va. β Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC) shared an "exciting update" on the search for Richmond's beloved Lowe's cat Francine.
"Lowe's received information of a possible Francine sighting last night and Broad Street Lowe's staff are on their way to the distribution center in NC this morning. Please send all the good vibes and prayers for a favorable reconnaissance mission and all the hopeful hopes of hopes Francine comes back home!" RACC posted on Facebook Sunday morning.
The Richmond SPCA posted a similar message which read, in part, "Lowe's says there has been a sighting at their Garysburg, NC distribution center on October 4, and they have confirmed it is Francine! A small team from the Broad Street Lowe's in Richmond, including the store manager, headed to the NC distribution center this morning. These are folks whose voices are familiar to RVA's beloved calico, and they'll be calling for her and shaking her food dish to entice her out of hiding."
Francine, who has gained local fame for being an awesome cat that for years has been a highlight for shoppers at the Lowe's store along West Broad Street in Richmond, went missing in late September.
It was believed she somehow got onto a delivery truck and ended up at a Lowe's warehouse in North Carolina.
The WheresFrancine Instagram account, created by Chas Nabi and Elise Gilmore, has been keeping the community and its 24,000 followers updated on the search.
"She threw out the first pitch at the Flying Squirrels game," Chas Nabi said. "Or at least she was supposed to," added Elise Gilmore with a laugh.
Gilmore and Nabi say visits to the Lowe's store on West Broad Street always meant a friendly encounter with Francine, a feline that wandered into the store 8 years ago and has been cared for by employees ever since.
"She always loves a little pet. She's always there to greet you with a little meow, and she just brings joy to everyone's face. She's very special," Gilmore said.
But two weeks ago, the pair discovered Francine was missing.
They say store employees seemed just as baffled about her whereabouts.
So, the two started an Instagram account and within a few hours, it had 400,000 views.
"We had a Lowe's employee act as a whistleblower and spill the whole story that they had seen her last on security footage walking onto the back of a semi truck at this landing dock behind us on the 18th and had been driven to the regional distribution center in Garysburg, NC," Nabi said.
Lowe's previously deployed thermal drones, installed two cameras with thermal alerts in an effort to find out if Francine was at the distribution center site.
Lowe's officials said Saturday that four additional cameras would be added and that the cat was "in the top of our minds" and that they "don't have plans to stop (looking for her) anytime (soon)."
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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