Arnie the dog search:

Brisbane volunteer who led tragic hunt for German Shepherd on his volunteers helping Nathan McKeown.

The missing German shepherd triggered a major volunteer and police response before he was found dead in his owner’s Ute.

Community investigators step in to help

Local community crime liaison Damion Douglass said the case “landed on our doorstep” due to his Neighbourhood Crime Watchers (NCW) team already being heavily involved in stolen car reports linked to youth offenders.

“One of the reasons Arnie rocked up on our radar was because we were doing patrols in that area around the 8th or 9th,” Douglass told 7NEWS.com.au.

The case quickly escalated as mountains of new information was fed to neighbourhood groups and police.

“ QPS were especially keen because German shepherds are working dogs and they had l ost a police dog during a case , so it seemed to resonate with a lot of officers, and they said ‘we’ve got to do something’,” Douglass said.

Neighbourhood Crime Watcher Damion Douglass sheds light on the intense days spent chasing false leads. Credit: Supplied

Over the following days, Douglass said he stayed in constant contact with Nathan, checking in on how the family was coping mentally.

He said he received constant updates — backstories, supposed ransom calls, shifting locations and new numbers to check.

“(The leads were) very detailed. When you hear a bloke talking about his daughter and how to tell her … you believe him,” he said.

The NCW volunteers mobilised.

“We had 27 people patrolling. We were chasing leads from Noosa to the Gold Coast . People were staying in hotels, paying their own fuel, putting in real hours,” Douglass said.

“We had 27 people patrolling. We were chasing leads from Noosa to the Gold Coast . People were staying in hotels, paying their own fuel, putting in real hours,” Douglass said.

“It was an expensive venture.”

Reports were shared and sightings checked across neighbourhood watch networks, but none could be confirmed.

Douglass checking in with Arnie’s owner as new claims emerge in the frantic search. Credit: Supplied

“We were thinking someone was holding Arnie for ransom,” Douglass said.

What motivated everyone involved in the search for Arnie was the level of detail and urgency in each new direction.

“We were sent on a wild goose chase.

“At the time, you didn’t question it. The emotions were too high. Everyone thought Arnie was alive somewhere.”

Leads on Arnie start to become dead ends

But as the days passed, Douglass said the information became harder to verify.

Volunteers hit the streets and police ran down dead ends across a search zone spanning hundreds of kilometres.

Douglass claimed Nathan contacted him about a phone call from someone alleging they had Arnie.

After tracing the number, Douglass found it was linked to a possible teenager, who Nathan confirmed he did not know.

“I escalated it to police, saying there’s a threat — this number called Nathan and said they’ve got your dog. They took it very seriously,” he said.

“Some of the stuff just didn’t line up. Numbers didn’t exist, things didn’t match, and then we were told something new again. You start thinking, ‘What’s going on here?’”

Neighbourhood Crime Watcher Douglass tracked new numbers, calls and sightings submitted buy the public. Credit: SuppliedScreenshots capture Nathan’s detailed tips to the community watch group. Credit: SuppliedMessages show Nathan and Douglass discussing new sightings. Credit: Supplied

He said the turning point came when the owner’s vehicle was found in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane .

A resulting police investigation has led to officers charging the owner, claiming the entire story about the ute theft was fabricated.

“It has now been established that a criminal offence of unlawful use of motor vehicle has not occurred,” police said on November 20.

“It will be alleged shortly after 10.30pm on November 7, the male owner drove the vehicle into Amelia St in Fortitude Valley and left the vehicle on foot.

“It will be further alleged that Arnie was left inside the vehicle.”

Arnie’s owner, Nathan McKeown, 43, was charged with one count of breach of duty of care of an animal by failing to provide under the Animal Protection Act.

Following further investigations, his original charge was upgraded on December 2 to one count of injuring animals (causing injury or death) by night under the Criminal Code.

He now also faces three counts of driving a motor vehicle without a driver-licence demerit points, along with one count each of driving under the influence (UIL) and serious obstruct police.

Douglass said he was devastated to hear the news Arnie had been found dead.

“I get it, things happen but this is not good enough. We’ve all made silly decisions, and not everyone has the same kind of judgment,” he said.

Police confirmed they were looking into allegations McKeown may have visited Fortitude Valley on the night the German shepherd went missing, stating “the QPS has received an intel report and are working to substantiate it”.

The fallout from the Arnie case has left the volunteer group feeling exhausted and disappointed after giving so much.

“This hit everyone hard,” Douglass said.

The grim discovery inside Nathan McKeown’s parked ute ended a week-long volunteer and police search. Credit: Supplied

Two chairpersons stepped down after poring days of work and energy into the search.

“It’s taken a real toll on us,” Douglass said.

Some volunteers feel “burnt” and said their trust has been shaken.

“I’m sorry to my team, the amount of hours they put in. I’m sorry to police. I’m sorry that if we swayed an investigation,” Douglass said.

“The people that were incriminated in this were not guilty of it.”

But he hopes the group can learn from the incident.

“It’s hurt our networks and our relationship with police. But at the end of the day, a dog died. That’s the real tragedy,” he said.

Despite the dark turn in the investigation, Douglass said a positive outcome was the way the case had brought unlikely communities together.

“Dogs, cats — they’re often forgotten when it comes to crime. Break-ins make the news, but you don’t see what happens off-camera,” he said.

Douglass suggested a simple, government-led initiative could help protect pets.

“There could be a sticker on cars to show you’re a pet owner, like a ‘baby on board’ sign,” he said.

“It’s small, but it could make people think twice and act differently, even if it’s just to check in on a pet.”

Douglass estimates, the search for Arnie has cost the community, media outlets and volunteers hundreds of thousands of dollars in time, money and resources.

McKeown is set to face Cleveland Magistrates Court in December.

by Katharina Loesche for 7news

TIME LINE

• New information has emerged from the  frantic search for missing German shepherd Arnie  with the volunteer leading the hunt speaking out about the “wild goose chase” he and his team went on.

• Brisbane  father Nathan McKeown, 43, was visiting friends near Davidson St in Wynnum on November 7 when the decision was made to put his seven-year-old German Shepherd Arnie into the back of his ute.

• McKeown said when he left to return home, both the ute and Arnie were gone.

• The vehicle was reported stolen the next day by his wife, Louise, sparking a police investigation and a large community search to find the beloved pet.

• “He’s our  family pet  , we’ve been through a lot with him, we just want him back,” Louise said at the time.

• “He’s very special, very.” The desperate couple made a direct plea to the thieves, saying they could keep the Ute — all they wanted was their dog returned.

• More than a week later, a member of the public found the vehicle on Amelia St in Fortitude Valley, with Arnie dead inside.

• The desperate search has ended in tragedy after Arnie was foudn dead. Credit: Facebook

• Nathan and Louise McKeown earlier pleaded for their dog to be brought home. Credit: 7NEWS

• Neighbourhood Crime Watcher Douglass tracked new numbers, calls and sightings submitted by the public. Credit: Supplied

https://7news.com.au/news/arnie-the-dog-search-brisbane-volunteer-who-led-tragic-hunt-for-german-shepherd-on-his-volunteers-helping-nathan-mckeown-c-20791837