NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — A routine cross-country move turned into a distressing ordeal for Jacob Hill and his family when their camper slid off Interstate 40 near Newsom, resulting in their cat, Winston, going missing.
The journey started on May 5th, with Hill towing a camper loaded with the family’s belongings, two dogs, and two cats. However, rain in Middle Tennessee made driving conditions hazardous. Hill recounted, “I felt the truck starting to fishtail, and I started screaming. I kind of got it under control, and then I heard this huge crash behind me. I looked in the rearview mirror, and the camper was about 100 feet behind us in the middle of the highway.”
Acting swiftly, Hill jumped out of the truck, flagged down another driver to stop traffic, and raced towards the wrecked camper. “I ripped the door off the camper. I got our two dogs out, and I got one of our cats out, but the other cat, Winston, an orange tabby, was nowhere to be found,” he said.
Despite searching for Winston in the dark for about an hour, Hill couldn’t find him. Forced to continue their journey, the family, now in Pennsylvania, has been tirelessly working to locate their beloved pet. Hill and his partner, Stephanie Vancak, have contacted every animal shelter in the area and posted on a national database for missing pets, which has been widely shared on Facebook. The response from the local community has been overwhelming.
“We were just floored by how incredible the Tennesseans are,” Hill said. “We’re in a group called ‘Team Winston’ that has about 10 people. I’ve never met these people, and they’re just committed to finding our sweet boy.”
Volunteers from the community have been setting up traps and monitoring trail cameras in hopes of spotting Winston. “It’s really heartwarming,” Hill shared. “That’s the silver lining for us in a terrible situation, but a lot of really good people have kind of reaffirmed our faith in the world and humanity.”
Despite their efforts, there has been no sighting of Winston yet. The orange tabby was last seen wearing a blue collar with pineapples on it and is microchipped. He was last spotted on I-40 east near mile marker 194. The family remains hopeful that with the community’s help, Winston will be found and brought back home.
If you want to help find Winston or think you know where the cat is, please contact Hill at [email protected].
