A tiny foal cruelly stolen from its mum has now been reunited five weeks later after being found over 300 miles away.
Shetland pony Lucy was taken from farmland leaving owner Jean Curd desperately worried.
She said the foal’s health could suffer since she was reliant on her mother’s milk.
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She added Lucy’s mother Nancy had been really distraught.
Police issued an appeal after the theft near Truro, Cornwall in July.
Now they have revealed Lucy was found at a caravan park in Hertfordshire on Thursday, (21 Aug) after receiving information from a member of the public.
The chestnut skewbald foal was reunited with her mother the same day and investigations of the theft were still under way, the force added.
Sgt Alex Winning, of Hertfordshire Police’s rural operational support team, found Lucy.
Officers found Lucy in a small, makeshift pen with another horse.
They have not yet been able to confirm a suspect, as reported by Need To Know.
He said: “We were lucky enough to have a piece of anonymous intelligence come to us via Devon and Cornwall Police.
“We acted on it immediately, got a few officers and myself out to the site that had been identified and put a drone up above it to see if we could find Lucy.
“Very quickly we found her and identified her by her markings and size.
“She was in an OK condition, ever so slightly skinny and a little bit of a cough but I was pleasantly surprised bearing in mind she had been away from her mother for a month and wouldn’t have had milk and those nutrients.”
He said police thought she had been taken to Hertfordshire in a van which would have been “very traumatic” for the young foal.
A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police added: “In July we issued a media appeal after Lucy – the chestnut, skewbald Shetland pony foal – was stolen from the Truro area at just two-months old.
“The story touched the hearts of people across the whole of the UK; the appeal was shared widely, reaching well over 1,000,000 people on social media.
“Officers continued to follow up on information provided to them by members of the public and, on Thursday 21 August, Lucy was finally found.
“Following intelligence provided by a member of the public, the Rural Affairs team at Devon & Cornwall Police made contact with officers from the Rural Crime team at Hertfordshire Constabulary who carried out a search at a caravan park in the Hertfordshire force area.
“The team located Lucy and seized her from the property, and she was back home in with owner Jean and mum Nancy by 11pm on the same day.”
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