Find Bailey

image Bailey is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. On November 8, 2004 he was stolen from a locked car located in a Beverly Hills parking structure. Bailey's owner, Elizabeth Hart, is desperate to get him back. And to aid in this effort she's created the most elaborate, slickly designed website you'll ever see for a lost dog. She's also issued a press release about Bailey, and is doing radio and TV interviews. I feel bad being suspicious about all this. After all, the poor woman probably really has lost her dog and is just trying to do everything she can to get him back. I know I'd go to quite extreme lengths to get my cat back, if she ever went missing. But still, the skeptic in me keeps saying 'Can this possibly be real?' It's how perfectly media-friendly the whole situation is that gives me pause. You've got a cute dog, an attractive woman, a christmas sob story, press releases, a professionally designed website. Could this be someone (maybe an aspiring actress) inventing a story to get some media attention? I have absolutely no evidence for this at all (though most people who lose their dog don't issue a press release), and I'm probably wrong. I just can't stop myself from asking the question. Anyway, I figure that even if my suspicions are misdirected, I'm helping her out by linking to her site and giving her more publicity.

Animals

Posted on Thu Dec 16, 2004


Comments

That would make her the sister of Melissa Joan Hart, whom I've actually heard of. Could be. Judging from the mailing address she provides on her site, she lives in a pretty fancy part of town, so she's obviously got money.
Posted by The Curator  in  San Diego  on  Thu Dec 16, 2004  at  06:36 PM
Nothing real ever happens in Beverly Hills. It isn't a city or a suburb, it's just one gigantic pile of desperate publicity stunts.
Nobody sets up a website that slick just to find a lost dog. That doesn't even seem like a good way to find your dog; wouldn't it be better to call the dog pound or to post a notice on lostdogs.org or whatever appropriate lost-and-found sites are out there?
Posted by Big Gary C  on  Thu Dec 16, 2004  at  06:48 PM
She even has the gall to ask for MONEY to "help fund the search for Bailey".

I feel sorry for her if she really has lost her dog--after all, I'd be devastated if I lost my chihuahua--but I really want to know...who asks for money when looking for their dog? I personally would just want the dog back. And then offer a reward...? Makes no sense to me.

Also, if what she says is true, I want to know what kind of person would want to take a dog out of a car in Beverly Hills and not the car. If you're going to go through the trouble of breaking in to the car to take a DOG (not even a stereo, or anything worth pawning), wouldn't it just make sense that you'd go the whole nine yards? Unless it was some beat-up POS car, which in Beverly Hills is highly unlikely.
Posted by Sarah  on  Thu Dec 16, 2004  at  09:29 PM
She looks vaguely like Natalie Portman to me. I assume this is because they are both descended from the same genetic line of Viking trophy sex slaves, which white males of Euro descent are programmed to lust after for obvious reasons (not just the horny ones), which is why nowadays waifs who look like that are deemed attractive enough to be media celebrities.

But I'm just blathering at this point.
Posted by Barghest  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  01:35 AM
She's pretty cute.

The dog, I mean.
Posted by James D  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  01:42 AM
I just sent her a message, via her website, in which I told her I didn't believe the story and asked her to post Bailey's dog license info to prove that the dog exists at all. We'll see what happens. By the way, yes, I know that this wouldn't PROVE that the dog was kidnapped but I'm interested in seeing what she has to say about the request anyway.
Posted by crankymediaguy  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  04:14 AM
Definately seems rather strange to devote a website to this cause; why not use the time to post flyers, call local animal control, search the neighbourhood, etc...and why would one need money for it?

Something's definately fishy. Then again, stranger things have happened & we all could be completely wrong.
Posted by Tornado  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  05:21 AM
So....is Elizabeth single? If so I gotta get out and find this little mutt. I think I'm in love.
Posted by Craig  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  06:41 AM
Maybe she's also looking for a partner, just like that guy who was featured on this site who was willing to pay $10000 for the perfect wife. Or the other one from the bus stop, Gorgeous Guy was his name, no? If we put them in contact, they might become the first museumofhoaxes.com happily married couple... 😊
Posted by Zoltan  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  08:13 AM
that is not melissa joan hart's sister
Posted by freak  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  08:54 AM
I think this is real actually. I live in southern Cali and there was a segment about this on ABC news one night. If not the news station got scammed then that would be pretty funny, but I really don't think this is a hoax.
Posted by Deanna  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  11:49 AM
It smells fishy to me,she seems to have enough time and money to spend by all means,but a lost dog...I know pets are special to their owners and understand it,but she is IMHO going a bit too far to be taken seriously.I would more than understand if it was a lost child,but a dog...anyway,there must be better,more effective ways to find a stolen dog than begging for donations... :roll: ,I agree with Big Gary C,nothing real seem to happen in Beverly Hills,so I think it
Posted by Evey  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  12:47 PM
Has anyone considered that maybe the DOG is an actor? What better way to get publicity than to stage your own kidnapping?
Posted by sombrero11  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  01:13 PM
Maybe she's like Susan Smith, who drove her kids into teh lake and then pretended to be looking for her lost children. GOOD GOD, SHE KILLED BAILY!!
Posted by Nat  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  01:24 PM
Could Nat be onto something?
I'm not accusing anyone of anything, but ...

A few years ago, there was a man in my neighborhood who strangled his wife, stashed her body in the bedroom closet, and then reported her missing and led the neighbors in an all-out search including posting color-copied flyers on every phone pole in town, issuing press releases, and combing the area for clues. It was only after a couple of weeks, when the people next door started to complain about the smell, that police started to suspect the husband.
Posted by Big Gary C  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  02:40 PM
So she's admitting she left her dog in a locked car, in SoCal? For long enough that someone could break in, not merely to drop a letter at the post office or something? I'm sure the ASPCA has a comment on that sort of thing.
Posted by cvirtue  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  08:01 PM
If you listen to the KFI AM 640 Radio interview she said "The windows were down..."
Posted by Darrien  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  09:40 PM
On the KFI AM 640 radio interview she said "The windows were down..."
Posted by Darrien  on  Fri Dec 17, 2004  at  09:44 PM
But if the windows were down,..... who says the dog was stolen, baileys could have walked of when he saw a nice tequila walking by.
Posted by Jeroen  on  Sat Dec 18, 2004  at  04:20 AM
She said that she left the dog in the car for an hour-long doctor's appointment. It sounds like she was trying to kill it.
Posted by Rachael  on  Sat Dec 18, 2004  at  09:31 PM
Those are expensive dogs.
Posted by Maegan  on  Sun Dec 19, 2004  at  09:17 AM
In Australia, you can be arrested for leaving an animal or baby in a locked car. She claims to have left it for an hour, lucky it wasn't summer or it would have been dead in 3 minutes. If it's a real story, maybe some kind hearted person rescued the poor thing and refuses to give it back to such a horrible and careless owner?
Posted by Peter L.  on  Sun Dec 19, 2004  at  11:09 PM
Whois info...


findbailey.com
Lake Forest
Lake Forest, IL 60045
US

Domain Name: FINDBAILEY.COM

Contact
Matthews Johnna: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
findbailey.com
Lake Forest
Lake Forest, IL 60045
US
Phone 847-295-1700
Fax
Posted by H  on  Mon Dec 20, 2004  at  05:14 AM
The whois info is moot since she appeared on SoCal TV news.
Posted by Craig  on  Mon Dec 20, 2004  at  06:40 AM
Peter L., it generally the same here. I've been in the mall parking lot & called the police because there was a child alone in a vehicle, twice they asked me to find something & smash in the window & take the child out.
Posted by Maegan  on  Mon Dec 20, 2004  at  07:54 AM
Have to call bullshit on you Maegan. The police would never ask anyone to do something that could further harm children, it would be a criminal act, and its something only a police officer could legally do.
Posted by Craig  on  Mon Dec 20, 2004  at  08:45 AM
Sorry...should've mentioned that I was a security officer. (Rent-a-cop)
Posted by Maegan  on  Mon Dec 20, 2004  at  11:14 AM
P.S. We have a little tool that will shatter tempered glass w/ a prick...I wasn't swinging an ax into the window.
Posted by Maegan  on  Mon Dec 20, 2004  at  11:15 AM
I can't help to use this quote because I am a smart ass, "I hate rent-a-cops too."
Posted by Craig  on  Mon Dec 20, 2004  at  11:19 AM
Whois info is totally irrelevant anyway. Many times, internet-hired web developers will put the domain in their name. I've done it before for clients in different states, with retail locations not in my state; yet the whois still comes up with my information. My husband has also registered a domain himself with totally false information...and I know for a fact he didn't live in the state the whois said.
Posted by Sarah  on  Mon Dec 20, 2004  at  12:12 PM
Domain Name: FINDBAILEY.COM
Registrar: BULKREGISTER, LLC.
Whois Server: whois.bulkregister.com
Referral URL: http://www.bulkregister.com
Name Server: DNS1.HRNOC.NET
Name Server: DNS2.HRNOC.NET
Status: ACTIVE
Updated Date: 29-nov-2004
Creation Date: 29-nov-2004
Expiration Date: 29-nov-2005

This seems legite.. the website indicates the dog was taken on 8 November, but as you can see the website wasn't created for another 3 weeks. It may seem excessive but so far I don't see any holes in the story. As far as the elaborate website, she could easily have a friend who designs websites.
Posted by Thomas Robinson  on  Mon Dec 20, 2004  at  02:24 PM
I'm not sure I believe that someone who leaves a dog in a parked car with the windows down for an hour really wants the dog very much.
Posted by Big Gary C  on  Mon Dec 20, 2004  at  02:31 PM
Her real name is Elizabeth Hart Matthews -- Googled the email address listed in the whois info above. I then googled her whole name and turned up nothing. Yahoo people search on the various iterations of the name turn up one address in Brentwood and two others, but nothing in Beverly Hills that I could tell.
Posted by Randy  on  Mon Dec 20, 2004  at  05:12 PM
Then I Googled the "Johnna Matthews" name in the whois data, figuring it's a relative, and turned up a couple of sites that indicate Johnna is half of Newell and Matthews, a PR firm. Go to this site:

http://www.murphyandco.com/about_mana_morr.asp

to read more about Newell and Matthews' clients, which included Dow Corning during the breast implant trials in the 1990s. Newell and Matthews both used to be with Burson-Marsteller in Chicago, which might explain the Lake Forest reference in the whois info.

In the end, though, if this Johnna is a relative (let's say mother) of Elizabeth, it would help to show where the money and expertise for the website design came from.
Posted by Randy  on  Mon Dec 20, 2004  at  05:23 PM
I want to say this girl's search is credible but the publicity page really seems out of place.

If your attention is finding a lost pet why the need to scrap book media appearances? The streaming video of news publicity isn't exactly light on the bandwidth.

How is watching a television interview helpful in the search for Bailey? It comes across as 15 secs of fame immortalized. The other site sections however are informative and focused on locating her dog.

As for the slick web design, that's attributable to "sean odell and dirgework productions" the site's web designer.
Posted by H  on  Mon Dec 20, 2004  at  09:59 PM
Someone here hinted a the real story, Is a dog lost? probable, is she a babe, yes, does the guy/web-designer want her, yes. Would I do something like it to get a babe, YES!
The rest is history.
Posted by Lee  on  Tue Dec 21, 2004  at  10:39 AM
The real story was hinted at. Is the dog lost, probable, is she a babe, yes, would the guy/web-designer build a site to impress her, would'nt you? (guys)
Lee
Posted by Lee  on  Tue Dec 21, 2004  at  10:44 AM
Hi--I am a close, personal friend of Elizabeth's, and I assure you this is NOT a hoax. Her dog was stolen from her car in November and Elizabeth has been trying to get Bailey back ever since.

Anyone who has a cherished pet or has experienced the loss of a pet, can understand how difficult this situation is. Instead of giving up, Elizabeth is doing everything she can to get Bailey back. She and many of her friends (like me) are resolved to help reunite her and Bailey and we continue to post flyers and get the word out there. I am really proud of Elizabeth's efforts, determination and what she's been able to accomplish so far.

All her effort even got you to talk/think about Bailey and the situation! Thanks for your thoughts on the matter (both positive and negative). I know it's hard to believe someone would put this much effort into anything--it's much easier to think someone would orchestrate a hoax like this. It would be nice if we could all take a leap of faith, like my friend Elizabeth is doing, and believe in her story and efforts, and especially in Bailey's safe return.

Thank you.
Posted by Joycie  on  Tue Dec 21, 2004  at  08:45 PM
Can you set me up with her?
Posted by Craig  on  Wed Dec 22, 2004  at  06:41 AM
It has to be a semi-real site, the last picture of Bailey can be made with a camera and flash. IF you know how the 'red-eye' affect works, that's what happened. If it was a business website, it could have easily been fixed.
Posted by Yaanu  on  Wed Dec 22, 2004  at  11:40 AM
I have her dog. Send 1,000,000,000 to my off-shore account and you will get her back in 24 hrs. 😉 😉
Posted by Sabrina P  on  Sat Dec 25, 2004  at  04:33 AM
The first question on my mind was this (IF in fact she did lose the dog)... why was the dog in a locked car in the first place. You don't leave a dog in the car like that. Some people can be so stupid. Ever think maybe that's why she was stolen? Duh!
Posted by Ter  on  Mon Jan 10, 2005  at  08:38 AM
I have no idea if the dog is actually gone or not...But lemme tell you, if I lost my dog...I'd do the same exact thing. And this hits a little more home because both my dogs are cavaliers. I don'tt hink it's over the top for finding the dog...It's exactly what I'd do, and what I know my friends would do.

I don't however, approve of leaving the dog in the car that long...So, mabe someone who will take better care of Baily has her now....
Posted by PootPoot  on  Fri Jan 14, 2005  at  07:11 AM
That's just heartbreaking. I believe her and I hope she finds Bailey. I applaud her efforts. Putting up this website will reach more people than just posters. Plus, it's always there whereas posters get taken down after a couple of weeks. She obviously has the resourses to put together this site, and maybe a friend did it as someone suggested.
While I agree that it was not smart to leave a valuable and cherished dog in a car for an hour, it sounds like she tried to make her as comfortable as possible. You know how it goes in the doctor's office, she probably didn't expect to be gone that long. I can only imagine the pain in her heart she felt when she came back to the car to find Bailey gone. What a horrible feeling that must have been. :sick:
Posted by Glamcat  on  Thu Jan 27, 2005  at  07:07 AM
Sad story. I really feel bad for Bailey's owner.
Posted by Moumita  on  Mon Dec 29, 2008  at  04:30 AM
Very sad. Hope Bailey will return home soon.
Posted by Shiva  on  Mon Dec 29, 2008  at  04:33 AM
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