Alligator missing after disappearing from Kansas City middle school

Lina PortmanMay 29, 2024

0 3 minutes read

A foot-long alligator, with its mouth closed, disappeared during a college event nearly a week ago and has still not been found.

The alligator disappeared Thursday from Lakeview Middle School in Kansas City.

It was brought to the school by a company called Thorni Ridge Exotics as part of an end-of-year celebration for students who received awards, the Park Hill school district told USA TODAY Tuesday afternoon .

Last week, KC Pet Project, an agency hired to search for the alligator, said the school did not have the necessary permits to bring the alligator to school. The school said it did not know permits were required.

“Thorni Ridge Exotics did not inform us that a permit was required for their services due to specific animals,” the district said.

But Eric Smith, owner of Thorni Ridge Exotics, said his company's contract covers that pretty well. “We are not from this area and our contract says whoever hires us is responsible for all licenses and permits,” he told USA TODAY Wednesday morning.

He thinks someone stole the 12-inch American alligator because his enclosure is meant to keep the animal indoors.

“There’s no physical way for them to get out of the compound,” he said. “Someone should have taken him out of the compound.”

Learn more:A petting zoo brought an alligator to a school event in Missouri. The alligator is now extinct.

District notifies parents of lost alligator

The school district sent a press release to families informing them of the situation.

“Well, this is (a) first for us,” the release said, adding that there was a petting zoo at the outdoor event.

“The petting zoo promotes a festival-like environment with a personal, hands-on opportunity to interact with exotic wildlife and domestic farm animals,” the district wrote in its release. “During this petting zoo activity, the petting zoo lost track of its foot-long alligator with its mouth taped shut.”

According to the school district, petting zoo staff searched for the small alligator that afternoon, to no avail. KC Pet Project and the Kansas City Fire Department also helped.

“There is no threat to public safety, again because the small reptile's mouth is taped shut, and we will work with the petting zoo corporation throughout the search,” wrote the district.

When asked if the alligator had been found Wednesday morning, the school district said, “Not that we know of.”

Animal Services says no permit was granted to bring an alligator to the event

The KC Pet Project's animal services division, which is researching the reptile, said Thursday that alligators are not allowed in Kansas City and a citation will be issued for violations.

The agency searched “for hours on the day of the event once we were alerted to the animal's disappearance,” KC Pet Project said in a statement to USA TODAY on Tuesday.

“We were alerted that the animal was missing several hours after discovering it was not in the enclosure,” the statement said. “Teams searched all around the school grounds and in the bush around the school, which was very dense.”

Officers continued to search creek beds near the water for hours Friday and patrolled the area over the weekend.

The Kansas City Fire Department also showed up last week to help with a towed drone, but the animal has still not been found.

“At this time, we are not continuing our search efforts, but we will be responsive to any reports of sightings or possible sightings,” KC Pet Project told USA TODAY Tuesday afternoon.

Smith, owner of Thorni Ridge Exotics, said this has never happened to his business before.

“We make thousands of them and no one has ever taken one or anything like that,” he said. “There’s a 0% chance it could come out.”

The school district is asking anyone who sees the alligator to call animal control at (816) 601-3473.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She's from Norfolk, Virginia – 757. Follow her on Twitter at@SaleenMartin or send him an email at[email protected].

Lina Portman

Related Articles

Tragedy as teenager Lily Basil is accidentally shot just days after graduating from high school. The 18-year-old shooter, who rushed her to the hospital, says he thought the AR-15 rifle was “unloaded.”

Man apprehended by police in southern Idaho after being stabbed twice | Idaho

Charlotte fentanyl dealer sentenced to more than 12 years in prison: DOJ

Former Viking Everson Griffen arrested for DWI