Overview
- Searchers located Gracie from a helicopter about four miles south of Cedar Hollow Ranch after almost two weeks on the loose, the Real County sheriff and multiple outlets reported Friday.
- Ranch manager Vick Jones and pilot Jeff Hill of Concho Aviation made the aerial sighting and reported that Gracie appeared healthy and was near a pond and creek with abundant vegetation.
- The owner has contacted a veterinarian and is assembling a team to chemically immobilize Gracie, place a hood over her eyes, and move her using an open pasture trailer into a taller enclosed trailer built for giraffes.
- Jones says Gracie escaped by climbing rocky ledges and descending on the wrong side of an unfenced gate, and he plans to build a fence at the escape point even though posts must be anchored through limestone.
- The case highlights how Texas Hill Country’s dense brush, rocky terrain, and many privately held exotic animals can let large animals evade ground searches and generate widespread public attention.