2 men caught on camera snatching $8,000 cockatoo from North Miami Beach home

Parrot named Bopper reported stolen Sept. 16

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Newly released surveillance video shows two men snatching a cockatoo named Bopper last month from his home in North Miami Beach.

Police said the yellow-crested cockatoo was reported stolen just before 5 a.m. Sept. 16.

Video shows two men entering the victim's fenced-in patio and walking toward the birdcage, which was covered with a sheet.

They were then seen carrying the large birdcage from the home.

"We've been having him for six years, and it was just devastating because they did it so quick and easy, and I felt they might have been watching my home," Santina Castillo told Local 10 News reporter Terrell Forney.

Bopper is white with a yellow tail and has a yellow crest of feathers on top of his head and underneath his wing.

The parrot is worth about $8,000.

"That's a family member at the end of the day," Castillo said. "Six years? You took a piece of us."

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call detectives at 305-948-2940. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. A cash reward is offered for information that leads to an arrest.

 


About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.