Police still searching for missing primates on Thursday
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
The search for 40 primates that escaped from a facility in Yemassee continues Thursday morning, according to the Yemassee Police Department.
Police have warned residents in the area to lock their doors and windows as a safety measure.
The Yemassee Police Department has asked the public to help track down the monkeys by calling 911 immediately if one is spotted, but residents are asked not to interact with the monkeys.
“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent the animals from entering homes,” said the Yemassee Police in a statement. “If you spot any of the escaped animals, please contact 911 immediately and refrain from approaching them.”
The primates escaped from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center on Castle Hall Road on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
Authorities are working with staff members the research center to try and locate the escaped monkeys by using thermal imaging cameras and setting up traps in the area.
The monkeys are used for biomedical research at the facility and according to the company’s website they breed monkeys and provide nonhuman primate products and bio-research services worldwide.
The breed of the monkeys has not been made public, but the company’s website states that the staff works with capuchin, rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys.
This is not the first time that primates have escaped from the Alpha Genesis facility.
In 2016, 19 monkeys escaped from the center and were recaptured roughly six hours later.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is made available.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
