Nanny accused of stealing south Fort Myers family’s dog after being fired

A woman working as a nanny in south Fort Myers was arrested Wednesday after deputies say she stole a family’s dog in retaliation for being fired.

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to a home on Caisson Lane for a report of a stolen dog. They learned the suspect, 61-year-old Eileen Schultz of Plano, Texas, was a longtime nanny for the family and had been fired earlier in the day. The family reported the dog, Lady, missing and suspected Schultz stole the dog.

“My grandchildren, you know, and the loss they were feeling. They were very, very upset. You know, this is their dog. She’s just part of the family,” said Steve S., father of the dog’s owner.

Steve was on the first flight he could get once he heard Lady was missing. “I was fortunate enough to catch a flight last night from Saint Louis down to Fort Myers to help out with what was going on down here.”

Watch LCSO’s footage of her arrest below or click here.

Detectives made contact with Schultz at a Fort Myers hotel. She initially told detectives she did not take the dog but changed her story when hotel workers said they saw Schultz with Lady. Schultz then told detectives she took Lady to the hotel but changed her mind and wanted to return her to the family.

Deputies learned that instead of returning the dog to the home, Schultz dropped off the dog alone in the area of Penzance Boulevard and Caisson Lane. LCSO searched the area overnight for Lady.

“They were using infrared looking for the dog. First thing this morning, there were sheriff’s deputies on this street looking for the dog. It seems like they looked for the dog all night long,” Steve said.

On Wednesday morning, detectives located the dog at a home in the Danforth Lakes community. A resident had found Lady and taken her in for the night. Deputies and detectives reunited Lady with her owners.

“I just want to say ‘thank you so much’ to that employee, that person. I don’t know who she was or he was. They were able to help us get our dog back,” said Steve. “I didn’t know what the response would be calling the sheriff’s office about a lost dog. But I never expected the response we got.”

Schultz faces a charge of grand theft, she was released on a $5,000 bond.