A man state police believe was involved in the disappearance of Lucky the dog is expected to be arraigned later today in Westmoreland County.
Linda Folino hopes the extradition of Kenneth W. Crider, 44, can provide some closure for her father, the owner of the 10-year-old Airedale terrier. Crider is being extradited from North Carolina to Pennsylvania Tuesday where he will face charges related to a Sept. 23 carjacking in East Huntingdon. Lucky was inside the car that Crider, of Maryland, is accused of stealing from 87-year-old Willard Martz and driving to North Carolina where he was arrested after a police chase and crash.
“We just want to know what happened to Lucky and we don’t understand why he didn’t just leave Lucky at the parking lot,” Folino said.
Crider is accused of carjacking Martz, of Donegal Township, Sept. 23. When Martz parked at the Tractor Supply store and headed inside, leaving a window open for Lucky, police said, Crider came up behind him and grabbed the car keys out of his pocket.
Crider was on the run until being apprehended in North Carolina Sept. 28. He’s been held at a jail there since his arrest on charges related to the police chase and crash. Now with those cases complete, he can be returned to Pennsylvania where he is charged with robbery, theft and receiving stolen property in connection with the carjacking.
In the months since the carjacking, a Facebook group dedicated to finding Lucky has exploded with more than 14,000 members. Users from numerous states have banded together to post flyers, conduct searches, spread the word on social media and cull through missing dog reports up and down the East Coast in hopes of finding the right one.
Folino said her father has received poems, letters, cards and an oil painting of Lucky.
“It really does make my dad feel a little better,” she said. “This has really taken a toll on him.”
Anyone with information on Lucky’s whereabouts is asked to call state police at 724-832-3288, 911 or send a tip to the Bring Lucky HOME to PA Facebook group.