The Purr-suit of Everyone’s Favorite Calico
When a cat named Francine went missing from a Lowe’s in Richmond, VA, the community launched a massive search. Surveillance footage revealed she had hitched a ride to a distribution center 85 miles away. With the help of LVT cameras and a very committed community, Francine was safely found and returned home.
It was all hands on deck when Francine, a beloved stray cat at the Lowe’s West Broad Street store in Richmond, Virginia could not be located by employees. She has become a celebrity at the store, living there for nearly a decade. Her absence was immediately noted and finding her became a top priority.
“Francine is one of us,” store supervisor Wayne Schneider emphasized. “She’s just amazing. What she means here to the store and the employees, you really can’t imagine the outpouring that the employees and also the customers give her daily.”
It was a real shock to the entire community when Francine suddenly went missing. In response, the Lowe’s team and shoppers immediately launched a full-on grass-roots operation to find her and bring her back.
Where is Francine?
Francine was usually easy to spot. On any given day, you could find her exploring the aisles, curled up on a box, or lounging around the garden center like she paid rent.
But one day in mid-September, she was nowhere to be found; not in her usual nap spots or near her food dish. As hours—then days—passed, unease turned to alarm. There was no denying it. Francine was missing.
Turns out, the curious calico had gone on the ride of a lifetime. After carefully combing through surveillance footage, it became apparent to the store staff that she’d hopped onto a truck bound for the Lowe’s distribution center 85 miles away in Garysburg, North Carolina.
How the Community Came Together to Bring Home Francine
Friends of Francine took action immediately. A $2,000 reward was offered for her return. Posters were plastered across Virginia and into North Carolina. A dedicated Instagram account (@wheresfrancine) began tracking tips and sharing updates. The account amassed over 35,000 followers.
Neighbors near the distribution center checked their properties, scanned wooded areas, and kept their eyes peeled for signs of Francine. The Lowe’s teams from both Richmond and Garysburg were doing everything they could. In addition to the 246 security cameras already monitoring their distribution center, they brought in thermal drones to scan the area.
“We knew we’d do whatever it took to bring Francine home,” said Store Manager Mike Sida. “She’s part of who we are here.”
Finally came the break everyone was hoping for. On October 4, Francine surfaced on a camera feed near the Garysburg distribution center.
“I can’t describe the feeling when we realized it was her,” said Sida. “We all just lit up.”
Now that they knew her general whereabouts, they could focus on capturing the accidental runaway and bringing her home. Sida and Schneider made the trek to Garysburg, bringing along Francine’s favorite food and her dish in hopes that the familiar scent and sound would lure her in. They set a humane trap and put the dish inside of it.
Capture and Return
The Lowe’s team had multiple traps set out, and she was eventually caught in one that was out of view. The team had initially considered redeploying four LVT® Units at no cost as a show of support, but Lowe’s instead chose to reposition a unit that was already active on site, making the extra deployment unnecessary.
LVT cameras spotted her early in the night, just a couple of hours after the Lowe’s team deployed the unit in front of the main trap, as she was circling and sniffing around it. She continued walking around the trailers for the next few hours that night. LVT support configured the unit’s analytics to detect her presence and send periodic alerts to the Lowe’s team throughout the night. They also ensured that anything that might spook her, such as lights or audio, was turned off. She was caught later that night. It’s possible that LVT was the first to get solid video evidence of Francine on site.
Schneider and Sida rushed to the scene to bring their girl home. “She looked at us and gave this big meow like, ‘What took you so long?’” Schneider reflected.
To prevent their furry friend from going missing again, the team placed a tracking tag on her collar.
Ensure Visibility Across Multiple Sites with LVT
It took a community to bring Francine home—but it also took the right tools to know where to look, when to act, and how to stay coordinated across sites and teams.
That’s the value of multiple site coverage: it gives you the ability to monitor, secure, and respond to threats at every location, even when you can’t be on site. From remote lots to busy stores, LVT helps teams keep people, property, and assets safe across multiple locations through:
- Agentic AI: Weed out false alarms and automate responses with real-time AI-powered alerts and deterrents
- Flexible options: Place mobile units wherever you need visibility, no cement pouring, drilling, or infrastructure required
- Scalability: Easily add or take away units from your fleet as your needs evolve
- Night and low-light visibility: Keep eyes where you need them through rain, fog, and nighttime conditions
- Remote access: Pan, tilt, and zoom from your phone or laptop, and view live footage from anywhere, at any time
- Cloud storage: Capture and store footage that can be used for investigations, insurance claims, or prosecution
- Forensic search: Stop wasting time watching hours of footage; instead, use keywords to locate the clips you need
From missing cats to stolen equipment, vandalism, intrusions, and more, our solutions help you see what’s happening—no matter where it’s happening—and take action. Contact us for a demo to learn more.
