Woman's Cat Goes Missing After Lufthansa Flight to Washington, D.C.

A woman traveling on a Lufthansa flight from Munich, Germany to Washington, D.C. is living out every pet parent's biggest fear after she found that one of her beloved cats was missing after being stowed in the plane's cargo hold.

Molly McFadden wrote on Facebook that her cat, Milo, had gone missing sometime between the time he was transported onto the tarmac at Washington Dulles International Airport and the carrier arrived in international baggage claim on Oct. 3.

“Despite best efforts, including extensive searching in the area, flyers, tracking dogs and humane traps, Milo has yet to be located,” McFadden wrote.

In what she describes as "a nightmare I never even considered," McFadden explained that her cat was joined by his brother, Beau, who did not go missing.

At the moment, he has been missing for over a week.

McFadden got Milo while she was traveling in Germany over the last four years. When she reached the international baggage claim in Virginia last week, she saw an airline agent waiting with her two cat crates, though something was amiss right away.

“Beau, my other cat, was in the crate and it was locked, but Milo’s crate was empty and the cage door was pushed in,” McFadden told USA Today. “Initially, the airline told me they were searching the plane itself since they believed he had escaped during flight �� however, they said the door was pushed in when they found him gone, and I still don’t think he would’ve yanked the door towards himself to escape.”

On Monday, Oct. 7, McFadden found out Milo’s carrier had been damaged while being transported on the tarmac, leading her to think he must have escaped after the flight.

Christina Semmel, a spokesperson for Lufthansa, told the news outlet the airline has “sent out emails to the airline community at Dulles Airport, members of the various authorities there, including ground handlers as well as other airlines, asking for assistance in the search.”

“At this stage, we are working right alongside the owner in terms of looking for Milo," she added. "The safety of the animals that we transport is always of our utmost concern and we certainly abide by each and every safety measure."

Milo is a gray and white tabby with a white neck, mouth, and stomach and green eyes. His nose is almost entirely gray with a bit of gray near his whiskers on one side of his face.

McFadden has been posting flyers around the airport and the surrounding areas. As of October 8, McFadden posted on Facebook that there was a potential sighting at South Riding Town Hall in Chantilly, Va.

Apparently, the cat that was spotted ran into a storm drain. McFadden is still searching for more news of what happened to her pet.

She asked in a follow up post for people who live nearby towns to post his photo and flyer on the app NextDoor to alert the community to be on the lookout.

Any further updates are being shared on the Milo Is Missing Facebook page.