2026 SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 312
Commending Task Force Francine.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 10, 2026
Agreed to by the Senate, March 12, 2026
WHEREAS, in the fall of 2025, the Richmond community came together on behalf of a beloved downtown resident, Francine the cat, who had vanished from her home in the Lowe's Home Improvement store on Broad Street, forming a coalition of individuals and organizations known as Task Force Francine to lead the interstate search and rescue operation; and
WHEREAS, Francine, a calico cat known for her serene disposition, became a local celebrity after making her home in the Central Richmond Lowe's several years ago, with shoppers often posting photos on social media of the store's “queen” as she lounged upon thrones of boxes and surveyed her domain; and
WHEREAS, in September 2025, members of the community noticed that Francine had gone missing, and subsequent reviews of security camera footage confirmed that on September 18, she had boarded a delivery truck and was accidentally sealed inside upon its departure; and
WHEREAS, on September 20, Francine was spotted 85 miles away from Richmond at the Lowe's Regional Distribution Center in Garysburg, North Carolina; workers attempted to contain her in the delivery truck, but she ultimately escaped into the massive, high-security facility; and
WHEREAS, as concern grew in the Richmond community, Task Force Francine began to take shape on September 28, with the launch of an Instagram account, @wheresfrancine, which gained tens of thousands of followers and turned the local search into a viral, multi-state movement; and