Family’s pursuit to find missing dog gains social media traction

One Snow Hill family's search for their missing dog has gotten almost 30,000 followers on Facebook. The Casto's are searching for their son's beloved dog Drake who's been missing for over 40 days.

Drake is a three-year-old Australian Shepard weighing 60 pounds and  is blue merle in color, a mixture of black, white and grey.  .

Drake got out while playing in the yard, but has reportedly been sighted near Newark Station and Five Mile Branch Road. 

The family has been out almost every day searching for him  have used two drones to fly over the woods looking for them and have event got infrared cameras for their phones to help during night searches. 

They hired a dog tracking service from Ohio to consult, but bringing dogs from Ohio is cost prohibitive.

Drake's disappearance has taken a toll on the family, but especially their son Ryan,  who his parents said was inseparable from Drake.

"As his parents we want to, we want to be the hero for our son and we do everything we can so we can possibly either Catherine or I get to say one day, guess who I found, I found Drake, You know, that's what keeps us going," said Darren Casto, Ryan's father.

If you find Drake the Casto's ask that you take a picture then quickly contact either (410) 430-1037 or (443) 235-3461.

Casto said you can toss Drake food, but don't chase after him because if he sees you running towards him he'll be more likely to run away.   

The Casto's said they are thankful  the community for the tremendous support they've already received.

More information can be found on the "Help Find Drake" Facebook page, here.