Alligator reunited with owner in Cape Girardeau

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – Cape Girardeau police say an alligator has been reunited with its owner.

A small alligator was found in somone’s backyard of a home in the 600 block of Red Bud Circle in Cape Girardeau on Saturday.

“It belongs down there; it doesn’t belong in this area,” said Ken Schaefer, a homeowner who found the alligator.

Schaefer and his wife Kate went outside to relax on their patio and stumbled upon a dangerous reptile.

“I thought it was an iguana because it was over here and all I could see was the tail,” said Kate.

But it wasn’t. It was a baby alligator that had escaped from a nearby home and made it’s way to their backyard.

“I ended up calling Cape PD and told them we had an alligator in our back yard,” Ken said.

“This is the first alligator call I’ve actually taken,” said Joshua McKinney, a communications dispatcher. “I do several reptile calls here in the city of Cape.”

After catching the gator, McKinney took it back to the station and started looking for its owner.

“It the alligator does belong to somebody, we want to reunite it with its owner,” McKinney said before it was reunited with its owner.

An alligator on the loose could cause a problem within the community.

“People keep these exotic pets and not take care of them,” said Schaefer. “To have an alligator in your backyard with little kids around, what if they would’ve found him?”

That is why Officer McKinney has this tip for pet owners.

“So if you have exotic pets, it’s extremely important to make sure that you’re doing everything possible to keep these exotic pets from getting out,” he said.

According to local law enforcement, the owners of the alligator were identified after the reporting of the story. The gator is back home in a protected environment.