Pair of hawks still missing after police find utility vehicle stolen from SoFi Stadium during Rams-Colts game
Authorities are still searching for a suspect who took off with a utility vehicle carrying two hawks at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood on Sunday, while the Los Angeles Rams hosted the Indianapolis Colts.
It happened at around 2:20 p.m. in the 1000 block of S. Stadium Drive, according to a news release from the Inglewood Police Department. They say that the suspect drove away with a maroon two-seater Kawasaki Mule UTV, which had the keys in the ignition.
"Affixed to the bed of the UTV were two Harris's Hawks ... housed in green containers," said IPD's release. "These Hawks are used during the games by a Falconer in order to deter other birds in the area."
CBS News Los Angeles spoke with Charles Cogger, the falconer, who had his birds taken on Sunday. He said that his hawks, Bubba and Alice, are eight and 20 years old and trained for bird abatement at the stadium.
"I have a lot of time into these birds and a lot of effort," Cogger said. "Alice was my like, you know, steady girl."
He says that he was in the process of handling another of his birds when the theft happened. He heard someone yelling that his cart was gone.
Witnesses told police that they saw the suspect drive the vehicle off the SoFi Stadium property. It was last seen in the Century Village shopping area.
The UTV was located in an alley near Century Boulevard and Avalon, about four and a half miles away from the stadium, police said.
Cogger says that it was then that he was alerted that two birds were found with the cart, but that they were dead.
"My heart just sank," he said.
It wasn't Bubba and Alice, however, but the remains of two frozen quails that Cogger stored in the cart as food for the hawks.
"Now I have hope again, because they weren't found on the cart," he said. "The boxes were there, but the birds were gone."
Police described the suspect as an adult man who was wearing a black shirt and a black jacket with white stripes going down the shoulder. He also had black pants and black shoes on.
Cogger says that both of the hawks were wearing hoods when they were taken, so if the suspect released them, they wouldn't have been able to fly or find any food.
A $1,000 reward is being offered for their safe return.
"Crime Stoppers put out a $1,000 reward and when I heard that ... I was just so appreciative that maybe that will be the thing that will help find them find their way back to me," Cogger said.
Anyone who knows more is urged to contact detectives at (310) 412-5206.
Update: One of the two hawks was located in Hacienda Heights on Sunday Oct. 5, nearly 30 miles from SoFi Stadium.
