Francine, the roving feline mascot of a Richmond, Virginia Lowe’s home improvement store, is home at last! After a two-week search that charmed the socks off of employees and customers alike, she’s back with her people. The cherished tabby was lost in September 2025. An elaborate campaign to re-hire her soon went viral on social media and gained massive momentum.
For the last nine years, Francine had been an indelible presence at her Lowe’s store, building relationships with the public and her coworkers as well. As soon as she went missing, the employees of the shop and local customers jumped into action. Their family and friends helped with the search effort and put up flyers throughout the surrounding area. They used thermal drones and they laid humane traps to find her. People in Richmond, young and old, specific and broad, focused with purpose and passion on finding Francine.
After a few weeks, an Instagram account to track her whereabouts—“WheresFrancine”—appeared. It easily drew the interest of over 30,000 new followers, all wanting to follow the fascinating updates on her whereabouts. The community’s collective concern resonated deeply, as many recognized that a visit to Lowe’s was incomplete without Francine’s warm presence.
“When you come here, you look for her, if you’re a regular,” said Dianne Jackson, a frequent customer.
The big turn in their search came after Lowe’s employees combed through their own store security camera footage. Instead, they found Francine had gone inside the rear of a delivery truck. Unbeknownst to them, this refrigerated tractor-trailer was transporting food to a local distribution center. It was making its way to Garysburg, North Carolina, roughly 85 miles from Richmond.
To that end, Mike Sida, one of the workers who participated in the search, was confident during the process. He was confident that Francine would one day lead him back home.
“I was pretty confident that we would find Francine. It was just gonna be a matter of time. It was kinda gonna be on her terms, so we had to just be patient,” Sida stated.
Now that she’s found, Francine has returned to Richmond, where she was greeted with open arms by her dedicated supporters. On her first day back, staff greeted her return with elation and jubilation, rounding out their collective team once more. To protect Francine on her next adventures, they gave her a stylish new harness featuring a tracking tag.
Wayne Schneider, another employee who assisted in the rescue mission, told KXAN that finding her was a miracle.
“We were so elated. I mean, we were just like, it was almost a miracle,” Schneider remarked.
The search for Francine quickly showed how adored she is by the Lowe’s employees. It highlighted the powerful community networks that have taken root in Richmond. We’re pleased to see Francine return to her position as the planet’s favorite bookstore cat! Customers can return to browsing the aisles with her reassuring source of warmth and joy walking alongside them.
