UPDATE: Missing pit bull puppies returned after mother found hanging by leash

A pair of pit bull puppies has been returned to their owner after they went missing along with their mother, who was later found dead, hanging by her own leash in the city’s Logan section.

The dogs disappeared on Tuesday from a yard on the 5200 block of Marvine Street, according to the PSPCA. The following day the mother was reportedlydiscovered hanging from a neighbor’s fence by a leash.

On Thursday,an individual who had them and thought they were strays returned the puppies to their rightful owner after seeing news reports on the incident, a PSPCA spokeswoman said. The investigation into the case of animal cruelty is ongoing.

The 5-year-old mother, called Mama, had two 3-month-old puppies, according to published reports.

“She was missing all day yesterday, and I went looking for her. I was all day looking for her yesterday,” Latanya Thomas, the dog’s owner, told6 ABC.

“I think they might have killed her before they put her over that gate,” Thomas said to CBS Philly.

Both PSPCA Humane Law Enforcement Officers and Philadelphia Police were on the scene of the hanging.No information on suspects has been released, and the PSPCA’s officers were on the streets Thursday continuing their investigation and looking into tips.

Anyone with information is urged to call the PSPCA’s cruelty hotline, 866-601-SPCA.

“This is obviously a deliberate act, along with the theft of the animals, so we’re looking for any information regarding this that will help us out,” George Bengal, of PSPCA told CBS Philly.