Aurora, Colorado, serviceman hires a dog and house sitter while deployed overseas. Then he checks his surveillance camera

A Colorado Air National Guardsman checked his home surveillance camera while deployed overseas for three months. He saw the man he hired to house-sit and watch his dog while he was away, loading the pet into his Subaru Forester and driving away, cutting off contact with the man who hired him.

An intensive search followed, and while the Guardsman’s car was recovered, the strange case ended in tragedy.

After spotting the housesitter seem to steal both his dog and his car and then vanish, the National Guardsman, Andrew Beckham, from Aurora, Colorado, rushed home early, on April 22, to join the search after leaving the country earlier that month.

Before he deployed, he hired 28-year-old Andrew Jansen to watch his house and his dog, an 11-year-old husky named Maverick, on TrustedHouseSitters.com, where travelers provide complimentary pet care in exchange for free lodging.

“He seemed scared of something”

At first, Beckham said the arrangement appeared to be working. Jansen allegedly sent text updates and photos of Maverick from Beckham’s Aurora home. But communication suddenly stopped in early April.

Beckham later told Denver news outlet, KDVR,

It was hard to see on my camera because he was taking Maverick out at night and then going in the car without telling me where he was going. “

via KDVR

About an hour before he disappeared, Jansen reportedly called 911 from Beckham’s house, reporting someone had tried to break in. Beckham added, “He seemed scared of something,” describing Jansen. “I don’t know what, but he seemed really scared.”

The disappearance triggered an online campaign and community search effort as Beckham pleaded for information about both Jansen and Maverick. Investigators eventually classified the case as involving a stolen vehicle and the stolen dog.

Maverick’s tragic outcome

The case took a devastating turn on May 2, when Denver police located Beckham’s missing SUV inside a North Logan Street parking structure. Inside the vehicle, officers found Maverick dead. Beckham later said the husky appeared to have been trapped in the vehicle for an extended period. Authorities have not publicly released an official cause of death for the dog.

Investigators are still working to determine when the vehicle was left in the garage and exactly what happened in the days leading up to Maverick’s death.

Authorities caught Jansen in Florida

Jansen was ultimately arrested in Miami-Dade County, Florida, on May 16 after deputies said he interfered with emergency responders assisting his father. Authorities said Jansen briefly fled before an off-duty deputy recognized him at Jackson South Hospital and took him into custody. Authorities have not publicly identified a clear motive in the case. Online discussions speculate about a possible mental health crisis, though law enforcement has not confirmed that as a factor.

Jansen is currently being held in Florida while awaiting extradition to Colorado. Aurora police have issued warrants accusing him of felony motor vehicle theft and general theft charges. As of May 18, no additional charges connected directly to Maverick’s death had been publicly announced, and the investigation remains ongoing.