(CNN) What began with a quick grab-and-go theft Saturday at the San Antonio Aquarium -- the suspect leaving a trail of water drops as he hurried away with his dripping prize of a small but very much alive shark -- ended Monday with the safe return of "Miss Helen" to her tank at the aquarium.

The 16-inch female horn shark was taken during a heist that aquarium officials said was no spur-of-the-moment, let's-steal-a-shark thing.

"The suspects staked out the pool for more than an hour" to wait for the right moment, the aquarium said in a statement.

The search for the young female shark, known to aquarium staff as Miss Helen, led police Monday to the home of a man who maintains an extensive collection of marine life, according to the police chief of the San Antonio suburb where the aquarium is located.

"When we got into the garage and into the house it looked like almost a mock up of (the San Antonio Aquarium)," said Leon Valley Police Chief Joseph Salvaggio. "He knew very much what he was doing and kept that animal alive."

Read More