A dramatic yet not-so-high-speed police chase in Tennessee involved an unlikely runner: someone's pet emu
- A Tennessee emu named MeeMoo escaped his 7-foot enclosure Wednesday by hopping over it.
- The police chased the speedy bird for 20 miles before cornering him.
A police chase in a small Tennessee town ensued Wednesday after a mischievous emu named MeeMoo escaped his enclosure, according to multiple reports.
The emu's owner, Harry McKinney of Harriman, Tennessee, told ABC News that the bird hopped over a seven-foot-tall enclosure and ran through the neighborhood. McKinney initially did not know where the bird had gone and enlisted the help of social media.
After MeeMoo was spotted by neighbors, the Harriman Police Department stepped in to pursue the bird, which they said ran away from them at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour, McKinney told WATE.
Harriman residents like Steve McDaniel captured the chase on video.
Police were eventually able to corner MeeMoo and McKinney managed to coax the bird back to him. McKinney told ABC News that the search and pursuit lasted seven hours and spanned 20 miles but MeeMoo is now home with his partner, another emu named MeeMee, and their soon-to-be hatched eggs.
Following the ordeal, McKinney reinforced the fence but said in a Facebook post the next day that MeeMoo managed to escape again. Luckily, he came back home in an hour, McKinney wrote.
The Harriman Police Department and McKinney did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.