While a man slept near Grape Day Park, someone stole his mule and launched a search for the mule named Little Girl.
A video confirms the theft of Little Girl by two suspects Sunday night that was recorded by city cameras and released by the Escondido Police Department Monday afternoon.
The two suspects were seen near North Broadway and Clark Street leading the mule east along the flood control bike path.
John Sears, the owner of Little Girl, told NBC 7 he’s had this mule for the past 25 years. He claimed he tied her up to a tree 10 feet away from where he slept Sunday night.
Sears, a self-proclaimed monk, migrates by foot across California with his mules every year. In the winter, he heads south to San Diego and, in January, he heads back toward Sacramento, according to his website.
Sears was only traveling with one mule, Little Girl, at the time.
The mule is 28 years old, cream colored with red markings on her legs and ears, a little over five feet tall, and weighs just under 1,000 pounds, according to the Escondido Police Department.
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According to Sears’ blog, Little Girl was impounded on Friday after police discovered him and his mule walking on the side of Interstate-5. Sears was arrested and released within the day, where he retrieved Little Girl on Saturday morning only to be stolen not 48 hours later, according to his website.
The Escondido Police Department said the mule was recovered at Kaile and El Norte with the assistance of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department helicopter Monday afternoon.
David Martinez, 28, of Escondido was arrested and charged with grand theft.
The mule does not appear to be injured, police said.
