Sunday, May 5, 2024
Briana Lafleur is desperate to find her beloved kangaroo Nigel, who jumped a fence Tuesday after becoming frightened by well drillers.
Briana Lafleur posted desperate pleas on Facebook, begging the community to help find her lost baby. She needed search and rescue teams, she said, and someone with a drone.
“I love him with all my heart,” she posted. “We have been searching all night.”
Lafleur’s baby is a two-year-old kangaroo named Nigel. He went missing Tuesday afternoon after jumping a fence at Lafleur’s property on Mitchell Bend Court in southern Hood County. She said he apparently became frightened because of a well being drilled there.
Kangaroos are legal to own in Hood County and in Texas, according to Sgt. Kelly McNab of Hood County Animal Control, which is part of the Sheriff’s Office. She said she knows of one other kangaroo living in Hood County.
McNab said Wednesday that Animal Control officers were helping to scour the area in hopes of locating Nigel.
Lafleur, who owns TLC Horse Training, said that Nigel is not aggressive and interacts all the time with her clients.
“He’s normally very friendly,” she said. “But, I don’t know, he’s just never been outside the fence and I think he’s just really worked up.”
She asked that anyone who spots Nigel call her immediately at 817-771-8039.
Lafleur said that Nigel enjoys wheat toast and still likes his bottle. She’s had him since he was a baby.
When the HCN spoke with Lafleur Wednesday morning, she was still out searching for her beloved pet.
“We’re really trying to see if we can find someone to help set up some panels or some drones,“ she said. “Panels, so we can maybe create like a trap and some drones so we can get some eyes in the sky.”
Sheriff Roger Deeds said that the SO has two drones but the department’s main drone operator had worked patrol Tuesday night.
“We are trying to make that happen,” he said of Lafleur’s request, “but we have been busy.”
McNab said that if Animal Control receives a call from Lafleur stating that Nigel has been located, officers will assist in helping her corral the frightened animal. If officers spot the rambling roo, they will not risk frightening him more by trying to capture him on their own but will Instead immediately call Lafleur, she stated.
“Hopefully, he’ll recognize her voice and it’s going to be mom,” she said. “Like, oh, mom, there you are, versus us just trying to corral him or apprehend him and make him even more scared.”
Like many others in the community, McNab is hoping for a positive outcome.
“I’m praying that Nigel will return or he will be found,” she said. “We’ve got to pray for the best.”
