Editor's note: Police on Friday, Oct. 12 released a surveillance image of a man initially considered a suspect in the case. The pictured man contacted police and was no longer being sought as a suspect. His photo has been removed from this page.

DEXTER TWP., MI - Animal welfare advocates are offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of a man seen throwing a cat from a moving vehicle Tuesday near Dexter.

A witness told police she saw a man in a blue Subaru SUV, riding with several other occupants, toss a cat through a window while traveling southbound on Dexter-Pinckney Road between N. Territorial Road and the Huron Creek Party Store, some time after 5:50 p.m. Tuesday, Oct.9.

The woman stopped her car to check on the animal and call authorities, finding that the cat, believed to be a 7-month-old black kitten, was dead with a collapsed skull, according to the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office.

It was unclear if the cat was killed prior to it being tossed from the vehicle.

Humane Society of Huron Valley officials said the kitten had a severely fractured skull and several other fractures and injuries, including to the jaw, neck, spine, ribs, and legs.

The kitten was sent to Michigan State University for a full necropsy.

The Humane Society of Huron Valley is offering a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Police initially released a photo of a possible suspect seen with a cat carrier entering a bathroom at Hudson Mills Metropark and later leaving in a blue Subaru SUV shortly afterward. The sheriff's office later said the man in the image was no longer being sought.

The man contacted authorities shortly after the photo was released and was no longer considered a suspect, Humane Society of Huron Valley officials said.

The person initially thought to be the suspect contacted the Ann Arbor News and said his cat defecated in the carrier while traveling and he was cleaning it out in the bathroom.

"Obviously, it is extremely disturbing," said Humane Society of Huron Valley CEO Tanya Hilgendorf about the death of the kitten. "There is no justification for intentionally hurting and killing such a harmless creature."

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office's confidential tip line at 734- 973-7711, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP or the Humane Society of Huron Valley at 734-661-3560.