A 700-pound fugitive with four legs, shaggy orange hair and a stubborn streak gave police in Carmel and Kent quite a workout last week, leading authorities on a four-day chase that included multiple sightings, a failed attempt at lassoing her from a patrol car and a reunion with her calf.
The culprit was Maggie, a 4-year-old Scottish Highland cow who escaped from Little Cabin Farm in Kent on Tuesday evening, Oct. 20, apparently deciding the grass was greener on the other side of the fence.
According to the Carmel Police Department, Maggie made her getaway by jumping over a 4-foot temporary fence on the farm property. Over the next several days, police in Carmel and Kent received numerous calls reporting sightings of the wandering bovine, who seemed determined to explore as much of Putnam County as possible.
Maggie's travels took her along some of the area's busiest roadways, including Routes 6, 52 and 301, according to Mid Hudson News. Her unexpected appearances attracted the attention of motorists, residents and law enforcement agencies, turning what began as a missing livestock report into something resembling a countywide roundup.
Carmel and Kent police, Putnam County sheriff's deputies, state troopers and state Department of Environmental Conservation police were among those involved in the search, Mid Hudson News reported.
At one point, a Carmel police officer attempted to lasso Maggie from the window of a patrol car as she trotted along the roadway. Body camera footage provided to Mahopac News by the Carmel Police Department shows the officer making the attempt, but Maggie had other ideas, slipping away and continuing her adventure.
The chase also produced a rather unusual traffic encounter for local politician Brett Yarris, who was driving along Route 6 when he suddenly found himself facing several hundred pounds of beef coming right at him.
"And there's a big Highland cow charging at my car," Yarris recalled to ABC7 New York. "I put my hand to my face and go: There goes the front of my car."
Yarris, who is a candidate for Putnam County executive, shared a video showing Maggie running along the roadway as people attempted to corral her.
Maggie had only recently arrived in Putnam County from Massachusetts, according to News 12 Westchester. Her owners, Mariana and Stephen Brophy, told reporters she was unfamiliar with her new surroundings, which may have contributed to her extended excursion.
And Maggie wasn't traveling alone. According to ABC7 New York, she is pregnant and already has a 1-year-old calf, making the wandering bovine both an expectant mother and a parent of a youngster who was likely wondering where Mom had gone.
In an effort to lure Maggie back, her owners traveled to Massachusetts to retrieve her calf, hoping her offspring’s presence would persuade the runaway mother to come home.
But Maggie wasn't quite ready to be corraled.
Her freedom finally came to an end Saturday morning, Oct. 24, when she was spotted near Sunset Boulevard and Route 6 in Carmel.
According to Carmel police, officers helped guide Maggie along Route 6 and onto Belden Road, where she was successfully lassoed and loaded into her owners' trailer at approximately 9:30 a.m.
Police Officer Anthony Bambach and Sgt. Kevin Anderson assisted in the operation, which ended with Maggie safely in custody.
News 12 reported that Maggie was reunited with her calf after returning to the farm.
The episode attracted regional and New York City media attention, with the New York Post reporting on the runaway cow and the unusual efforts to bring her home.
For local authorities, it was a four-day pursuit that required patience, teamwork, and perhaps a few skills not ordinarily taught at the police academy.
For Maggie, it was apparently just a chance to see the sights of her new town before settling back to grazing her own turf.
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