Raccoon escapes unscathed from Riverside County jail
A masked bandit made a clean escape from a Riverside County jail Thursday afternoon after getting caught in barbed wire. And it had help from law enforcement.
Officers with the Riverside County Department of Animal Services responded to the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning about 9:15 a.m. after receiving a call about a raccoon stuck on the barbed wire.
Video shows the raccoon carefully attempting to walk on top of the fence, at one point falling and getting caught in the barbed wire by its leg. But the brave little critter was quick on its toes.
“Although several attempts were made to snare the critter, it tried to elude the officer and, in some tense moments, fell into the razor wire,” animal services spokesman John Welsh said in an emailed statement. “Remarkably, the raccoon was not injured.”
Animal services Officer Kellsey Hoesman, standing on a ladder, used a snare to catch the struggling raccoon as it attempted to fight her off. Onlookers gasped in suspense as they watched the trapped animal.
Once captured in a cage, the raccoon was returned to freedom in a wildlife area near Charles Street in Banning.
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