Escaped emu captured after big bird chase in Van Buren Township

VAN BUREN TWP. (WWJ) -- An emu on the loose in Van Buren Township has been captured, ending an hours-long pursuit.

Georgia Baker, a police dispatcher in the Wayne County community, said the large bird named "Jeffrey" escaped from its enclosure at a farm and was seen running around in the area of Hull and Elwell roads on Friday.

"It's been loose since early this morning," Baker told WWJ's Amber McDonald, Friday afternoon. "This is not really an uncommon occurrence for us ... more of a rural area here, so occasionally we have farm animals loose."

"(The farmer) is attempting to trap it. He is aware of its current location, but it's very scared the now so it's been difficult to capture."

The township's animal control officers were assisting in efforts to catch the bird, but Jeffery was ultimately caught with the help of a neighbor, 17-year-old Seth Wordhouse, who grabbed him at a nearby farm.

"It was definitely different! It was not what I was expecting when I woke up this morning," Wordhouse told McDonald, describing the experience.

The teen said he didn't know about the loose bird until it showed up on his property.

"It pretty much walked right up to me, for the most part. It was still a little scared because it was running around and cars were driving by, and it was a lot of loud noise for a bird like that."

A picture of the teen posing with Jeffery was posted by his mom on Facebook with the caption: "My hero!"

While this is certainly not something many metro Detroiters see every day, Baker said local law enforcement was not at all surprised by the incident.

"I believe the same emu has been loose previously in the area," Baker said, adding that they've also had to chase down loose sheep, goats and horses from time to time.

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It does not appear that Jeffery or any local residents were hurt as the emu was trapped and sent back home.

It's unclear at this time if the farmer could face a fine or other penalty.

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