It’s another bizarre twist in a story that’s been full of them: A masked man apparently tried to steal Nahla, the tiger found wandering through a Conroe subdivision during last week’s storms.
Conroe police say the man dressed in black broke a glass window to get inside the Conroe Animal Shelter around 5:40 Wednesday morning.
Surveillance cameras were rolling as the suspect ran through the shelter and frantically tried to open several doors. Police believe he was looking for the tiger.
"He's not looking for any small items, you know, drugs other anything like that," said Conroe Police Lt. Dorcy McGinnis. "We believe he's looking for the tiger."
It happened a couple of hours before Nahla was transferred to the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary northwest of Fort Worth.
On Tuesday, a judge ruled Nahla's owner, Cody Tibbits, abandoned her. Tibbits said she got loose while he was trying to take her to a friend's house during last week's flooding. He only owned the tiger for a couple of weeks.
Police don’t believe Tibbits is a suspect , at this point, because the man in the video has a different build. Tibbits told KHOU 11 News on FaceTime that he had nothing to do with the break-in. He said his main concern is Nahla’s well-being.
“I’m not really telling anybody where I am right now because I don’t want any publicity whatsoever,” said Tibbits. “Especially now. Look at what has happened.”
The suspect was wearing a black shirt, black pants, a black ballcap, a camouflage jacket and a mask.
Police think they have him on video casing the shelter before the break-in. They are also looking for a silver vehicle parked near the shelter at the time of the break-in.
If you recognize the suspect, police call the Conroe Police Department at 936-522-3200.
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