Police look for person of interest
Dallas Zoo officials said Tuesday two monkeys believed to have been taken from the zoo this week have been found in a closet at an abandoned home outside city limits.
Meanwhile, Dallas police released a photo of a person who detectives want to speak with in connection to the animals’ disappearance, asking the public to help identify them.
“We are thrilled beyond belief to share that our two emperor tamarin monkeys have been found,” zoo officials tweeted Tuesday night. “(Police) located the animals early this evening, and called our team to come secure and transport the tamarins back to the Zoo. They will be evaluated by our veterinarians this evening.”
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The zoo said it plans to share an update on the monkeys Wednesday.
“Details about the recovery will come from Dallas PD,” it tweeted.
A Dallas police spokesperson told USA TODAY Wednesday that officers, with help from the Lancaster Police Department, found the monkeys about 4:50 p.m.
“Dallas Police received a tip the monkeys may be at an abandoned home in Lancaster,” police said.
Lancaster is located in Dallas County about 10 miles south of the zoo.
Officers from both agencies went to the home and police said they found both monkeys in a closet.
The monkeys were returned to the zoo, police said, and the case remained under investigation Wednesday.
So far, police said Wednesday, no arrests have been made.
But police are asking the public for help identifying a person they released a photo of on Twitter Tuesday.
“Detectives are looking to speak with the man in regard to the two tamarin monkeys missing,” the department tweeted.
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Initial disappearance
The zoo tweeted its animal care team discovered two of its monkeys were missing Monday morning.
The zoo had been closed Monday due to inclement weather and was scheduled to be closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
“It was clear the habitat had been intentionally compromised,” the zoo said.
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Staff searched near the habitat, as well as the rest of the zoo, but could not find them, and alerted police who opened an investigation into their disappearance.
In a statement to USA TODAY earlier this week, police said a preliminary investigation found someone intentionally cut into the monkey enclosure.
A series of unusual circumstances
The case of the missing monkeys is just one of several unusual events that have taken place at the zoo in recent weeks.
- On Jan. 13, the zoo was shut down after Nova, a 4-year-old clouded leopard, went missing. She was later found on zoo grounds and safely secured. Harrison Edell, executive vice president of animal care and conservation at the Dallas Zoo, noted there was a tear in the mesh of Nova’s enclosure that morning.
- On Jan. 14, Dallas police opened a criminal probe and found that an intentional cut was made on the enclosures that house langur monkeys. None of the monkeys were missing or harmed.
- On Jan. 21, Pin, a 35-year-old endangered adult lappet-faced vulture, was found dead in its habitat. The zoo said a veterinary team trying to determine the cause of Pin’s death found “an unusual wound and injuries, which pointed to this not being a natural death.”
Anyone with information about any of the incidents at the zoo or who can identify the person in the photo released by detectives is asked to contact Dallas police.
Contributing: Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
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