A house sitter accused of stealing a US airman’s beloved dog and car while he was deployed overseas was captured weeks after the beloved husky was found dead inside the abandoned vehicle at a luxury apartment complex.
Andrew Jansen, 28, was found hiding out in Miami-Dade County on Saturday after he allegedly stole Andrew Beckham’s 11-year-old husky, Maverick, and left the pooch for dead over 2,100 miles in Aurora, Colo., the airman told The Post.
“I wish his family would have come forward about Andy’s location so I could have had a chance in saving Maverick,” Beckham said. “I’m relieved he is custody now, and not possibly hurting other people.”
Beckham had found Jansen, who is from Palmetto Bay, Fla., through TrustedHouseSitters — which connects pet owners with suitable sitters — to watch the home and Maverick while the US servicemember was deployed overseas in early April.
Jansen had been staying at Beckham’s home in Aurora, Colo., during his housesitting gig.
The dog sitter was captured on doorbell footage one night taking Maverick outside and into Beckham’s Subaru Forester before driving off without notice.
Beckham lost contact with the alleged dognapper and reported the two missing to police.
Beckham raced back home to Colorado on April 22 to join the emergency search for his dog, but came up empty-handed until May 2.
Maverick was found dead inside Beckham’s missing vehicle, which police discovered abandoned in the private gated garage of a luxury apartment complex in Denver, a month after it was reported stolen.
Police are investigating how and when the car showed up at the private garage and when Jansen skipped town.
“He was trapped in the car for a long time,” Beckham told CBS Miami on Saturday. “He had a lot of blood on his face. They’re still trying to figure out why and what happened.”
Photos obtained by The Post show the memorial Beckham created at home for Maverick, including tufts of the beloved dog’s hair, impressions of his paws, a print of Maverick’s nose and a mural showing the smiling husky.
“I got to see Maverick. But it’s really hard to talk about,” Beckham said.
After the heartbreaking discovery earlier this month, Beckham hadn’t received any updates on the investigation until a local Florida reporter tipped him off that Jansen had been arrested.
“I have not been contacted by any law enforcement or detectives regarding his capture,” he said.
Aurora police issued an arrest warrant for Jansen on felony motor vehicle theft and general theft charges, according to CBS Miami.
Jansen was arrested at Jackson South Hospital attempting to visit his father after he allegedly interfered with a medical emergency call early Saturday morning, according to the outlet.
He is being held in Miami-Dade on a fugitive out-of-state warrant and is expected to be extradited to Colorado, according to jail records, viewed by The Post.
Beckham warned pet owners to be vigilant when finding dog sitters, urging them to do proper research into the individuals they find online.
“If [Jansen] were house-sitting again, I think people need to know. If [Jansen is] using other agencies, people need to know. Because he made Maverick suffer a lot,” he told the outlet.
“We are deeply concerned about the situation and are in direct contact with the pet owner Andrew, and are actively cooperating with local authorities as they work to resolve the matter as quickly as possible,” a spokesperson for TrustedHousesitters told The Post in April.
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