SALT LAKE CITY — "She loves to play in boxes," Carrie Stevens Clark said. "It's just a part of her personality."
The Utah woman is talking about their family cat, Galena, who went missing two weeks ago.
"She just mysteriously disappeared," Clark said. "We had absolutely no idea what happened to her. We put tons of flyers up, we contacted friends and families to help us search, we searched for a whole week."
Clark said she and her husband, Matt, spent hours searching for their beloved cat. And just when it seemed all hope was lost, "...we got the most amazing, insane news in the entire world," she said.
It came in a phone call. Galena's microchip had been detected – 650 miles away – near Riverside, California. It turns out the cat had been sealed in a delivery box.
"She was trapped in an Amazon package," Clark said.
Using a large box, the Clarks had returned a pair of shoes in an Amazon box a week earlier. Somehow, during the packing process, Galena had climbed inside and gone undetected.
"We had no idea, so Matt took her, took the package to the drop-off without knowing that our dear cat was inside," Clark said.
An Amazon employee named Brandi discovered Galena's unusual hiding place. She took care of the cat until the family could be reunited. The Clarks said they were thankful for Brandi and all she had done.
"It was just the best because I know that under other circumstances, she wouldn't have been found. We're just so happy to have her again," Clark said. "Oh my goodness."
Despite going six days without food or water, Galena is said to have fully recovered from the ordeal.