Evi a small female bobcat who escaped from captivity under strange circumstances

A bobcat named Evi lived at the Reflection Riding nature preserve located at 400 Garden Road Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. A young man whose name is Cayden Melia was kayaking on Lookout Creek after drinking alcohol (and perhaps during his kayaking).

Evi a small female bobcat who escaped from captivity under strange circumstances. Screenshot.

When he got to Reflection Riding, he got out and walked to the area where a bobcat and an eagle were kept in cages. I will have to presume that the reason why he broke into the cages with a rock was because of his inebriated state. He then broke into the bobcat's cage.

Once he was inside the bobcat's captive area, he decided the play with the bobcat. He was playing with a ball when the animal decided to escape. He tried to get the cat back inside the cage but failed so he returned to his kayak. Evi is domesticated and behaves like a domestic cat to a large extent.

He admitted that he knew the area was off-limits. A person had come forward who suspected that Cayden was the culprit. A city officer went to his home in North Chattanooga, read him his Miranda rights and took a statement. This brief article is based upon the statement and comes via The Chattanoogan.com.

He had his first court appearance on August 6 2020 before General Sessions Court Judge Alex McVeagh. The "crime" took place on June 11, 2019.  Melia is charged with vandalism and criminal trespassing. I expect he received a nominal sentence.

Evi was spotted numerous times on the side of Lookout Mountain. $4000 was donated by the public to cover the cost of the search. The police have decided that Cayden did not try and steal the bobcat and has been charged with vandalism and criminal trespassing. 

Evi was recovered 5 days later according to the video below. Evi is quite small, not much larger than a domestic cat.