Search of runaway’s backpack reveals bizarre traveling companion, Louisiana cops say
The recovery of a missing child in Louisiana turned oddly comical when deputies discovered the “kid” was traveling with a rooster stuffed in a backpack, officials say.
It’s not clear where the two were headed and deputies don’t know where the bird came from, the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a May 31 Facebook post. St. Mary Parish is about a 90-mile drive southwest from New Orleans.
“Is anyone out there missing a rooster? If you are, or know someone who might be, please holler at us,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
“Ole Foghorn is cooped up in the Witness Protection Program over at the Patterson Animal Control, but we figure he would prefer to be back home where he belongs.”
A photo shared by the sheriff’s office shows the ruffled rooster was “a bit shaken up but unharmed.”
How the child got it in the backpack was not revealed, but the sheriff’s office confessed: “In a way, we were impressed.”
The recovery was made Friday, May 31, after the child “decided to embark on an adventure, leaving home in search of a new life.”
“Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there at some point in our youth — those spur-of-the-moment decisions that usually end up being short-lived. This adventure was no different,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Our deputy found the youngster quickly, but there was an unexpected twist. Along for the ride, tucked away in the kid’s backpack, was none other than a rooster!”
The kicker, officials said, is that the rooster doesn’t belong to the child’s family.
“We’re still scratching our heads as to how exactly he ended up with it. So, we have a bit of a mystery on our hands and, well, a rooster.”
The Facebook post has hundreds of comments and reactions, most involving jokes at the rooster’s expense.
“That baby packed him a bottle of water and a chicken snack,” Shelli McGrew Hartley wrote on Facebook.
“And how do we know the rooster and the kid were not in cahoots to leave for a better life?” Cherie A. Aucoin posted.
This story was originally published June 3, 2024 at 5:11 AM with the headline "Search of runaway’s backpack reveals bizarre traveling companion, Louisiana cops say."