So it looks like this dog was stolen to order and that the amount of publicity that went out to try and find it made it too hot to handle.
I'm surprised that the veterinary profession don't take it upon themselves to impose a rule that suspiciously missing/ inactivated chips become automatically notifiable. But that begs the question of notifiable to whom.....
Not too many hunting dogs get stolen where we live. Not much time is wasted by police or curt services on these matters even when snatchers are identified........ there's a direct causal link to this apparent law abidingness, in that hunting dogs here are 99% owned by hunters. Hunters of deer and wild boar who have the necessary firearms, skill and field-craft to do so..
Pity UK is so tame by comparison ;-)