Indianapolis police capture a cheeky monkey that escaped and went on the lam

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Momo the monkey’s taste of freedom is over.

The primate spurred an hourslong search on Indianapolis’ east side after he escaped Wednesday evening from his owner’s property. But the male patas monkey was finally captured safely Thursday morning, police said.

Momo was captured by the brother of the monkey’s owner after police tracked the primate to the bathroom of a house under construction, said Lt. William Carter of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

“That was more than enough monkey business for us,” the department said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, to announce Momo’s capture.

Carter said police were called to the city’s east side about 6 p.m. Wednesday on a report of “an aggressive animal” that turned out to be the monkey on the run.

After his capture, Momo was taken into the care of Indianapolis’ Animal Care Services, which turned him over to staff at the Indianapolis Zoo for now, said Katie Trennepohl, deputy director of Indianapolis Animal Care Services.

While a permit is not required in Marion County to own such an animal, she said Momo will remain held under the advice of the county’s prosecutor’s office, which will work with Animal Care Services to determine whether Momo will be returned to his owner.

Trennepohl said Animal Care Services had “dealt with Momo one other time” when he had escaped in July.

Last night, after Momo escaped again, she said his owner was issued a a citation because the monkey was “chasing and approaching in an unsafe fashion” while on the run in a residential area.

She said that anyone who had direct contact with Momo during his time on the lam should contact the local health department because of a concern about “diseases that can be transmitted to humans.”