Boa Constrictor Caught in Massachusetts After Sending Police on a Hunt

Police said they wanted people to keep a close eye on their small pets.

ByABC News
May 28, 2015, 3:51 PM
Braintree Police released this photo of the boa constrictor.
Braintree Police released this photo of the boa constrictor.
Courtesy Braintree Police Department

— -- Massachusetts police had a suspect that kept slithering away from them this afternoon. They were on a snake hunt.

The Braintree Police Department warned locals to be on the lookout for a loose boa constrictor, according to a notice posted around noon.

Police announced they caught the snake a couple hours later and turned it over to the animal control department.

The 4-foot-long snake was believed to be somewhere in the south part of Braintree, a town about eight miles south of Boston.

Braintree Mayor Joseph C. Sullivan told ABC News the authorities caught the snake near a playground in the neighboring town of Weymouth.

"We were able to accurately portray that this wasn't an alarming situation but that we were still taking care of it," said Sullivan.

Police said they wanted people to keep a close eye on their small pets and preferably bring them inside in their initial warning.

Sullivan noted that boa constrictors are not poisonous. However, the snake was last seen near a playground before being captured. A news release said the snake on the loose was a "concern" that they were actively pursuing.

Braintree Animal Control and the Braintree Police Department did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment.