Miss Sassy, cat at center of Ohio pet-eating controversy, allegedly found alive

Miss Sassy is the cat supposedly at the center of recent claims about Haitian migrants killing and eating pets in an Ohio city.

The cat's owner, identified by as Anna Kilgore, reportedly contacted police in August and said her pet might have been taken - and eaten - by her Haitian neighbors. The media outlet reported the cat was eventually found alive and well.

According to , Miss Sassy was found safe in Kilgore's basement a few days after Kilgore filed a report with authorities. Kilgore later apologized, the report noted.

The on Wednesday said Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck took a call earlier this month from someone who said they were a member of Ohio Sen. JD Vance's staff. Vance's employee, according to the media outlet, asked if the claim was true.

"He asked point-blank, 'Are the rumors true of pets being taken and eaten?'" Heck told The Wall Street Journal. "I told him no. There was no verifiable evidence or reports to show this was true. I told them these claims were baseless."

Police in the area alsosaid the claims were false.

Vance, who is former President Donald Trump's running mate, has defended his role in spreading information about the claims.

Under the Biden administration, at least 15,000 migrants recently relocated in Springfield, a city that was previously comprised of about 58,000 residents.

During the presidential debate between Trump and Kamala Harris, Trump mentioned the claims and said the recent influx of Haitian immigrants has put a severe strain on local resources.

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs," Trump said at the debate. "The people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what's happening in this country."

Many of his supporters also said they are convinced it's true. People took to social media to defend the claims.

Billionaire Elon Musk shared a video on X of a woman who said her father immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti during the late 1960s when he was a teenager. She said while she and her dad are estranged, he often told her when she was "very, very young" that

"He wasn't eating people's pet and he didn't practice voodoo, but he did say that most of the island - the majority of the island, does practice voodoo."

She added that some people who live in Haiti because they don't have access to food. She also said there's another reason: animal sacrifices.

"It's not racist to acknowledge that this is a problem," the woman said. "Y'all just want to joke about Trump and say he's crazy, but what if it were happening to you?"

Meanwhile, a man claiming to be from the Caribbean who claimed he was well-versed in Haitian culture, said he also believes Haitian migrants are killing pets and wild animals not only as a food source, but for voodoo purposes, as well.

"This is not a joke," the man said in a video shared on TikTok and YouTube.

Since the Republican candidates' initial comments, more than two dozen bomb threats have prompted the state to send in additional state troopers and install surveillance cameras around the city in order to reopen schools and government buildings.

According to reports, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue doesn't want Trump visiting his city in wake of the claims.

"It would be an extreme strain on our resources, so it'd be fine with me if they decided not to make that visit," he reportedly said. "It would be very difficult."