Woman arrested, charged with theft of Trafford family’s dog
The Armstrong County woman whom police were seeking in connection with a stolen dog case in Trafford has been found, but the German shepherd named Nani Nyx is still missing.
Molly Bureau, 29, of Cadogan was arrested Monday and remains in the Westmoreland County Prison charged with two counts of theft. She is being held on $10,000 bail.
According to the police affidavit, Bureau did not return the 1-year-old black purebred — valued at $3,800 — that she was pet sitting.
Bureau picked up the dog from owner Eva Hodgdon’s Trafford residence at 8:30 p.m. July 1. She was to return the dog to Hodgdon sometime between 5 and 6 p.m. July 4 at Trafford Manor on Brinton Avenue, which Bureau claimed was her residence, according to the police affidavit.
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• Armstrong County woman accused of stealing Trafford family's dog
Bureau did not respond to text messages from Hodgdon prior to the arranged pickup time, was not at the location and did not respond to Hodgdon’s attempts to contact her, police said.
Hodgdon confirmed Nani Nyx is still missing.
“This is a step in the right direction … but we still want people to be looking for Nani,” she said.
According to online court dockets, Bureau was wanted on two separate warrants in Westmoreland County for allegedly skipping scheduled hearings following her Dec. 12, 2020, arrest by North Huntingdon police for striking a parked vehicle and driving on a suspended drivers license and a May 13, 2021, arrest by Trafford police for possession of drug paraphernalia and providing police with false identification.
Online court dockets also reported Bureau has a DUI case pending in Armstrong County following a Dec. 30, 2020, arrest by state troopers in Kittanning and another pending case in Allegheny County for possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana after an Aug. 3, 2020, arrest by Pittsburgh police.
Bureau did not have an attorney listed in online court records. Her preliminary hearing for the alleged dog theft is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 26.
Quincey Reese is a TribLive reporter covering the Greensburg and Hempfield areas. She also does reporting for the Penn-Trafford Star. A Penn Township native, she joined the Trib in 2023 after working as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the company for two summers. She can be reached at qreese@triblive.com.
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