Police are on a wild goose chase in Bolivar.
Actually, it's an exotic snake chase.
A large Red-Tail Boa escaped from a house there and the news has the whole neighborhood up in arms.
Let’s put the size issue in perspective.
The owners say it's about 10 feet long; the animal control officer says 12.
He got out of his cage, which is in a shed next to the owners' house early Tuesday morning and the problem is, in about five days, Bubba's going to get hungry!
It’s Wednesday.
Officer Matt Gilmore begins another day of ridding the Bolivar streets of strays and returning lost pets to their distraught owners.
Michael Finwick is one of those owners.
“I’m more concerned about him being out in the wild versus being in the cage,” says Finwick.
This is the second day Finwick has enlisted the help of animal control to locate his missing pet, and so far the search has turned up few leads.
“His camouflage fits in well with what's in the yard. Snakes are excellent at hiding,” explains Gilmore.
That’s right-Finwick's fugitive is a snake of frightening stature.
“I was told right away it was a 12 to 13 foot snake,” says Gilmore.
So armed with gloves, a snake-nabbing contraption, and a small canister of pepper spray, Gilmore is determined to return 70-pound Bubba the Red-Tail Boa to his home, where his girlfriend Bree eagerly awaits his arrival.
The neighbors are pretty eager too.
“I’d like for him to catch it. There's a lot of little kids around the neighborhood and a lot of animals,” says Matt Young, who lives a few doors down from the snake owner.
Finwick isn't sure whether the snake can fit through the holes of a chain link fence and since his whole yard is fenced in there’s a good chance Bubba’s still there.
Finwick insists his snake isn't harmful; he says he was fed the night he escaped and won't need to eat again until the end of the week.
Still boas are capable of swallowing rabbits, cats, and even small dogs.
Therefore Bubba is considered armed and dangerous.
Bolivar city ordinance prohibits housing reptiles, but the animal control officer says once they find Bubba, he will go back home to his owners.
If you find the snake, which disappeared near north Market and Summit streets, you are asked to leave it alone and immediately call the Bolivar Police Department.