Monkey in a tutu rescued by Missouri sheriff’s deputies before winter storm hits

OTTO, Missouri — Put this in the file for “sheriff’s calls that are difficult to believe.”

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office came to the rescue last Friday when it received a report that a spider monkey was spotted near the intersection of two highways at about 4 p.m. That’s unusual enough, but the monkey also was wearing a pink tutu.

“After careful negotiations and some coaxing, deputies were able to get close enough to go ‘hands on’ with the subject and bring this bananas situation under control without incident,” the sheriff’s office says in a news release.

The monkey reportedly was being cared for at a nearby home and managed to open a door and escape outside, the sheriff’s office says. The monkey was returned to its caretaker.

It was good timing for the rescue. A winter storm hit the region Saturday, closing roads and sending temperatures plunging.

“In all seriousness, this is a great example of law-enforcement officers never knowing what they’ll face on any given call and having to be prepared to handle whatever the job throws at them,” the news release says.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)