A Vernon family is pleading for help after their two-year-old tuxedo cat, Luigi, went missing during a BC Ferries sailing from Duke Point to Tsawwassen on Saturday, August 9th.
Neelya Herbert and her family had been vacationing on Vancouver Island, visiting relatives in Port Alberni, and had just celebrated a wedding there on July 31st.
They were camping in their truck and camper during the trip and were on their way home to the Okanagan when the incident happened.
Luigi, a rescue cat Herbert adopted a year ago, slipped out through the 1.5-inch opening of a rear window in their Ford F-350 while parked midway on the lower right car deck along the outside wall of the Coastal Inspiration.
Herbert says she noticed Luigi was missing around 12:15 p.m., when passengers were permitted to return to the lower deck.
“BC Ferries crew were awesome in helping me search the whole lower car deck for Luigi,” she said, adding she was the last person to walk off the deck that day.
A BC Ferries representive confirmed the incident to Victoria Buzz, saying crew members conducted multiple sweeps of the vessel before disembarking, again later that evening, and the following morning.
While unable to enter customers’ vehicles, trailers, or boats without permission, they searched all accessible areas and offered Herbert complimentary boarding on subsequent sailings to continue the search.
“We have not received any reports or sightings of the cat since the sailing,” said Ceilidh Marlow, Senior Communications Advisor for BC Ferries. “To assist further, BC Ferries will be sharing the customer’s post on our social media channels to help spread the word.”
Herbert has offered a finder’s fee for Luigi’s safe return. She says his absence has been hard on the family’s other pets — a cat that howls at night and a dog named Finnegan who is still looking for him.
“I’m completely heartbroken and feel that I’ve totally failed Luigi. I’ll do anything to get him back safely,” she said.
Anyone who travelled on the 10:15 a.m. sailing from Duke Point to Tsawwassen on August 9th is urged to check their vehicles and belongings.
Sightings can be reported directly to Herbert at 250-720-9999.
