New leads in Star the reindeer’s case, but owner says he’s unsure of how Star died
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Albert Whitehead sits at a table in his downtown home, surrounded by cards and letters, many of them sharing memories of his pet reindeer Star.
“I’ve got cards from all across the country,” Whitehead said. “A lot of people I don’t even know.”
“It’s emotional,” he continued. “But it makes you appreciate that Star was more than just my pet, Star belonged to Anchorage.”
Whitehead is still grieving the death of his pet reindeer, which he had to euthanize in early April. The animal’s health deteriorated after someone broke into Star’s pen in February and led the animal away. Star was discovered wandering in downtown Anchorage and returned to Whitehead by an Anchorage police officer hours later.
The following day, someone showed up outside Star’s pen and sprayed an unknown substance onto Star. The animal developed pneumonia and never fully recovered.
”I’d like to know really why he did it and, obviously, the individual who did it,” Whitehead said. “Because obviously there’s consequences of what he has done.”
On Monday, police released a new photo of the man they believe cut the lock on Star’s pen. Whitehead said it matches the man in his security video who can be seen hopping a fence to get into Whitehead’s yard before leading Star away.
But Whitehead is less certain about what happened the following day when a man approached Star’s pen from the sidewalk and sprayed the animal with something from a bottle. Star became ill in the days that followed, but Whitehead said he isn’t sure it was the same man from the first incident, or that whatever was in the bottle caused Star to become sick. He said it’s possible the two are unrelated.
”I don’t have conclusive evidence that the spraying is what caused Star’s death," said Whitehead.
Whitehead is hoping answers will come with necropsy results that are expected any day. But that still leaves the question of who did both acts. He’s hoping the new photo could jar someone’s memory.
“I think that it’s important to know that this is a serious offense,” he said. “And I would appreciate any help anybody has that can help locate this guy.”
Anchorage police say they continue to investigate. They ask anyone with information on the case to email Officer Sam McGill at samuel.mcgill@anchorageak.gov.
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