East Hampton Woman Heartsick Over Cat Missing After Greenport Accident, Still Praying for Miracle

Greenport, NY- It has been almost a month since a beloved cat went missing after a car accident in Greenport.

And for Lecia, a 72-year-old woman who asked that her last name be withheld, the days without her feline companion have been agonizing.

Lecia, who lives in East Hampton, was hospitalized after falling asleep at the wheel and crashing her car into another parked car in Greenport on December 17, according to Southold Town Police.

She was driving a 2007 Saab southbound on First Street when when the crash occurred at about 5:52 p.m., police said.

The Greenport Fire Department responded to the scene and aided the woman, according to police. She was transported to Eastern Long Island Hospital for treatment of her injuries, police said.

Her 10-year-old gray female cat, named Alice, escaped from the car after the accident, according to police. The cat ran eastbound toward Main Street.

Describing her ordeal, Lecia said she had just moved from Connecticut, and had taken the ferry from New London to Orient Point. She was ready to drive about the North Ferry but, while driving through Greenport, fell asleep at the wheel, she said.

“No one was hurt, thank heavens,” she said. The airbag in her vehicle did not deploy, Lecia said.

But when she was sent to the hospital to be examined, Lecia said she was told the cat, who was not in a carrier, could not remain in the car. She called Alice, who jumped into her arms, but was terrified by the lights and sirens, she said. Alice scratched her, leapt out of her arms, and fled.

“That face will haunt me for the rest of my life,” Lecia said. “She just bolted.”

Alice, she said, jumped over a fence. “She hasn’t been seen since,” she said.

At Eastern Long Island Hospital, Lecia was treated and released; she and her stepson headed back to First Street in Greenport, searching and calling Alice’s name. “We must have been up and down First Street a million times,” she said.

Concerned animal lovers and the North Fork Animal Welfare League, Lecia said, have all been “terrific. But there doesn’t seem to be a solution.”

With the clock ticking, and Lecia scheduled to be out of town for the next three weeks, her fears have escalated. She even considered having her damaged car towed back near the accident site, so Alice might catch the scent of something familiar, perhaps a piece of clothing, and come out of hiding. She also hoped to leave food near the car. That plan, however, was too difficult to execute.

Lecia has been back to the scene many times, leaving food and putting up signs around Greenport, especially near the library, IGA and drugstore.

“People have called from all over, saying they’ve seen my cat. But it hasn’t been Alice,” she said.

One young person from the library spent a good portion of the Christmas break searching, to no avail. “I’ve met wonderful people,” Lecia said. “But still, no Alice.”

Now out of town for three weeks, Lecia is heartsick and afraid that her cat may never be found. She asked that anyone who might see Alice during that time period contact the Southold Town Police at 631-765-2600.

Most terrifying, Lecia said, is that Alice doesn’t live in Greenport and, recently moved from Connecticut, has no sense of her surroundings. “She doesn’t know where she belongs,” she said. Although she’s a naturally affectionate feline, Alice is skittish and likely very fearful, she said.

Alice has been a precious family member for 11 years, her only cat, Lecia said. “She means a lot to me,” she said.