Puppy still missing from van stolen in Fremont with 2 dozen dogs inside

FREMONT, Calif. (KGO) -- Some of the dogs that were transported in a van stolen yesterday in Fremont are still missing today.

One is a three-month-old puppy who was on his way to his forever home in Washington State. His family is pleading for his safe return.

ORGINAL STORY: Van stolen from Fremont with 2 dozen dogs inside recovered in Oakland

"This morning we found out from Oakland Animal Services that are our puppy was in fact not recovered from the van," Michelle Roman told ABC7 News from her home in Tacoma, Washington. "We're worried that he's lonely or scared and getting fed properly and we just really want him back."

Roman says the puppy is an English bulldog, which they had already named Papo. He was one of the more than two dozen dogs being transported in the missing van. He was also one of only a few dogs inside that was not a rescue.

"We had two English bulldogs and one passed away in August, so our other dog he's been really sad and lonely, so we wanted to buy a companion for him," Roman said. "We found him from a breeder in Kansas and we've been waiting a while for him to be born and old enough for him to come be with us."

On Monday, Oakland police recovered the van - which had been stolen overnight in Fremont - by tracking the movements with a GPS tracker on the van.

Oakland police arrested the alleged thief and rescued 24 dogs, along with the van. Only a few dogs remain missing. Police said it appeared the suspect may have tried to sell some of the dogs.

"As far as who he may have been sold to, was he sold before or after the van was stolen? There are unknown factors, so that's not helping at all," Roman explained.

The unknown and the uncertainty is the hardest part of all.

"It's kind of scary to think that somebody that would steal a vehicle and potentially sell these dogs, if that's what truly happened, has given the dog to someone that's not really capable of taking good care of him," Roman said. "We just really want him back. No questions asked."