The saying goes, "If it's meant to be, they'll come back to you." That's precisely what happened with Derek the cat and his family.

After their cat went missing 11 years ago, a Florida family got an unbelievable call — their beloved pet had been found thanks to an animal code enforcement officer working with Jacksonville's Animal Care and Protective Services (ACPS).

According to a Facebook post from ACPS, a Good Samaritan found a sick feline and reported the case to animal control. Animal Code Enforcement Officer Alfredson responded to the call and picked up the feline.

The officer soon discovered that the 13-year-old cat was microchipped, but unfortunately, the registration and contact information loaded on the chip was incorrect.

Officer Alfredson did not let this obstacle stop her from figuring out the cat's identity. Instead, she "put on her detective hat," ACPS shared.

"The team at ACPS is trained to use every resource available when researching microchips," the agency said on social media.

"She was able to obtain information that the microchip was implanted by Jacksonville Humane, so she reached out to our friends at JHS and was provided the owner information that they had from 2010," ACPS added in its post.