Utah couple accidentally ships pet cat to California in Amazon return package

(KTLA) — After the family cat mysteriously "vanished," Carrie Stevens Clark said she tried everything to find her — from paper flyers, social media posts and searching every nook and cranny of her Utah neighborhood.

On April 17, a week after Galena's disappearance, Clark received a call from more than 600 miles away from home. Turns out the seven days of searching didn't work because the family cat took an impromptu trip to the Golden State.

"I got a call that changed everything," Clark posted to Facebook. "Her microchip was scanned, I was immediately notified via text and a vet called me to say they had Galena and she was in CALIFORNIA!!"

Clark said that without her and her family's knowledge, Galena hopped inside a package full of products they were returning to Amazon. After the box was sealed and shipped off, the cat went on a six-day adventure without food or water before ending up in a return center in Riverside.

An employee of the return center opened the box and to her surprise, found Galena safe and sound. She then took the cat to a vet, who scanned her microchip and alerted the Clark family that Galena was found.

"Without the microchip, and the kindness of Brandy, we never would have found her again," Clark said.

Carrie and her husband, Matt, embarked on what their daughter called a "mission date," the next morning as they hopped on a plane to Southern California. After getting some bloodwork done, Galena was released from the vet and went on a 10-hour road trip back to Utah with the couple.

Clark said Galena was unharmed, despite losing some weight, and was likely saved by non-extreme temperatures and a split seam in the box so she could breathe.