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By Allyson Chiu | The Washington Post
For Miss Helen, Saturday began as any other day. The 16-inch young horn shark, one of the interactive shark basins animals from the Aquarium of San Antonio, spent the morning swimming around the exhibition, receiving food and hugs curious visitors.
But three aquarists wanted to do more than just touch and feed the relatively innocent Miss Helen, the police said. They planned to steal it.
On Monday night, two people had confessed to taking the shark from the aquarium, told reporters the Leon Valley police chief, Joseph Salvaggio. Miss Helen was found alive in the garage of a San Antonio home that looked like a "model" of the aquarium, Salvaggio said. A 38-year-old man was charged with theft. The charges against the other two suspects are pending Salvaggio said: "Fortunately, the thief was someone who knew what he was doing," he said. "Fortunately for the shark and for the aquarium, we were able to bring this animal back in one piece."
Salvaggio added that local authorities are working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to see if theft involves federal charges.
It all began Saturday afternoon when two men and a woman with a baby snuck into the aquarium through the back entrance, says Ammon Covino aquarium owner at the Washington Post [19659009]. at the exhibition where visitors are allowed to feed and touch different types of marine animals, says Covino.
There, they would have waited for the perfect moment to strike
"They staked this exhibition while waiting for the employee to leave," Covino said. "As soon as she walked out the door, they grabbed this shark."
The tools needed to make a successful break-in? A net, a bucket, a blanket and a stroller
A surveillance video taken around 2 pm captures a man leaning into the show and emerging with the shark in a net. Cradling the shark in his hands, he passes in front of the visitors who look at other displays and out of sight of the camera, leaving a trail of water on the floor of the aquarium. Another man is also seen following closely behind.
According to a statement posted on Facebook, the aquarium said the suspects took the shark in one of their filtration chambers. Once inside, they placed other animals at risk when they emptied a bucket filled with bleach solution used to clean the equipment in a system. screen filtration. The "sanitation bucket" was used to transport the shark, according to the communique.
When men reappear on video, one of them holds a large package wrapped in cloth under an arm that he charges into a stroller. The woman stands nearby and holds the baby
Meanwhile, an aquarium employee can be seen walking, stopping at least twice to watch the group. Covino said the employee had immediately reported the suspicious behavior to the aquarium general manager, Jenny Stellman.
Stellman told The Washington Post that she had found the man in the parking lot about to get on a truck. She said that she told him that she had seen water escape from the stroller.
"He said that the water was flowing because they had spilled a cup of Yeti on the stroller and that they were leaving so fast because their baby was with them."
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The man has refused, "jumped into his truck and left," said Stellman.
The robbery was the first of its kind to be attempted at the aquarium, said Covino.
Even the police had struggling to believe Salvaggio told KSAT: "When we received the call, we thought it was a hoax because it was shark week last week," Salvaggio said. , in reference to Discovery Channel's TV programming, to sharks. "But it turns out that someone went into the Leon Valley quarium and stole a horned shark. "
This year, Shark Week took place from July 22nd to 29th. Miss Helen would have been taken on July 28th.
The shark was devastating, says Covino
"Every animal is important to us and to get one out of the aquarium, everyone, all the staff, was just pissed off."
However, Covino says that he knew the success of the holdup would be short. In addition to the surveillance images, the aquarium staff had a license plate number.
"From then on, I knew we would at least get justice if we were not going to get the shark." On Monday night, the aquarium announced that employees were on their way to recover Miss Helen – and she was alive. Stellman said she and Jamie Shank, deputy director of aquarium breeding, were present for the rescue. In one video, Miss Helen can be seen swimming near the surface of a large circular tank that also had a row of colorful corals on the inside.
"We are so lucky that they were amateur aquarium hobbyists," Stellman said as he saw several other sharks in the garage's tanks. "If it was just someone from the street who had no idea whatsoever, we would have a dead shark on our hands."
Speaking to reporters, Salvaggio said the police believed the shark had been stolen.
"We do not think he was considering selling it," he said. "He did not say that, but looking at the other animals, it was more than likely that it was something he wanted." He had had one in the past – obviously He likes these types of animals. "
Horned sharks are usually found in temperate to subtropical waters and can grow to about four feet long. While they are carnivorous, their diet consists mainly of small fish and invertebrates. According to the International Shark Attack File, a database of known shark attacks compiled by the Florida Museum of Natural History, only one incident involving a shark-horn has been recorded.
The video of Miss Helen's return to the aquarium shows The staff was waiting to greet her, bursting into cheers and hoarse applause when she arrived.
While the shark appeared to be in good condition, Stellman said that she is currently in quarantine and that she is being monitored.
"We still have to watch her because some stress reactions can be delayed," she said. "She's not out of the wood yet."
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