Remembering Flash: Stolen van found three days later; golden retriever inside died from heat exhaustion

WASILLA — An Anchorage man whose dog died from apparent heat exhaustion inside his stolen van said he is still “dumbfounded” about the incident some 10 days later.

“I still can’t believe it, I really can’t,” Mark Thomson said of losing his 12-year-old golden retriever — a male named Flash — that was found in Thomson’s stolen, abandoned van three days after if was taken from a construction parking area near the Parks Highway in Wasilla.

Alaska State Troopers arrested a pair of Valley residents Monday in connection with the theft. Palmer resident Gina Jones, 36, and Wasilla resident Jason McDonnell, 35, were arrested on North Williwaw Way by troopers who were in the area on an unrelated call.

Jones and McDonnell were both charged with first-degree theft, two counts of second-degree theft, third-degree misconduct involving weapons and animal cruelty. They are scheduled to be arraigned at 11 a.m. July 26 in Palmer Superior Court on the theft and animal cruelty charges, according to the district attorney’s office.

According to reports, Jones and McDonnell took Thomson’s red 1999 Dodge van from a parking area along Fireweed Road near the Parks Highway on the evening of July 10. Along with Flash, Thompson said his .45-caliber pistol also was inside the vehicle. Troopers later found the abandoned van July 13 near Hideaway Circle off Hyer Road. Flash was found dead inside.

Thompson got the van back from troopers Tuesday.

“It was trashed,” he said, adding that troopers were still hanging on to his pistol.

Thomson works for Quality Asphalt Paving, one of the contractors involved with the summer resurfacing project on the Parks and Glenn highways. He said he had parked the van in a staging area — a former gravel pit — west of Hyer Road. Workers often leave their keys in the vehicles in case they have to be moved, Thompson said.

“The keys were on the floorboard,” Thompson said. “They weren’t in the ignition. I had the windows down and fans in there to keep him cool. He had plenty of food and water.”

This time of the year, the van has served as a second home, Thomson said, as he has moved from job to job in the Valley. Flash was always a traveling companion.

“I have had him since he was six weeks old — he has gone everywhere with me,” he said. “I flew him out to King Salmon one time on a job... He was a great dog.”

Thompson figures the thieves entered the gravel pit from the back, away from the road.

“The van was there at 6 p.m. when the paving crew was there. When I got off at 7:30 it was gone,” he said. “One of my co-workers saw it in traffic and tried to chase them down.”

The van was eventually found some two miles away.

“I guess the guy who called it in waited 24 hours after finding it,” Thompson said. “That was tough.” Daytime temperatures during that period reached into the upper 70s to near 80.

Flash was cremated this week, and while Thomson said he is still working through all that has happened, he was quick to point out the level of support he has received.

“It has been a hard 10 days,” he said. “But I can’t say enough about the support I have received from folks in the Valley. Everyone has been super.”

Contact reporter Steven Merritt at 352-2269 or steven.merritt@frontiersman.com