Police in Nevada have arrested a man suspected of tying a bowling ball to a dog and drowning it in Sacramento's American River.

William Meek had been on the run for nearly five months. The Sacramento Bee reported Wednesday that the 47-year-old was taken into custody in Reno on a felony warrant.



Sacramento officials said the 12-year-old border collie was found floating in the river June 16. The dog was attached to a leash that was tied to a bag containing a bowling ball and large rock.

City animal care manager Gina Knepp says the dog had a microchip that officials traced to a Sacramento woman who said she put the dog in Meek's care.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department has requested Meek's extradition to California. It wasn't immediately known if he has a lawyer.

