Cops: Runaway bull still on the run, on sixth day after escape from Moriches farm
The runaway bull, now called "Barney," on Montgomery Avenue in Mastic on Tuesday morning. Credit: SCPD
Six days on and the whereabouts of Barney, a 1,500-pound bull that escaped a fenced-in farm in Moriches, remain a mystery.
Suffolk police said Sunday that the bull with the gleaming dark coat was still on the loose after breaking free Tuesday morning from the farm at 136 Barnes Rd.
Since then there have been reported sightings of the bull, including as far west as Stony Brook.
But rescuer Frankie Floridia, one of the animal lovers who has been searching since Tuesday for the runaway bull in the Mastic-Shirley area, thinks the tips are bum steers.
"Stony Brook? No way," Floridia said Saturday afternoon.
No way, he said, the bull could travel so far west so quickly. He will believe it when he sees photos.
The search has been done on foot and on horseback, and with helicopters, drones and thermal cameras. Searchers have even sent out a cow in heat and set up a horse pen loaded with grain.
Nothing, so far, has worked despite keeping watch day and night, using thermal and cellular night vision cameras, Floridia said.
Rescuers hope to bring the animal, once nabbed, to a sanctuary.
A Southampton restaurateur, Michael Pitsinos of the Capri Hotel and restaurant NAIA, said he would help fund the stay for the rest of the animal’s life, according to spokesman Bruce Lynn.
In a statement Saturday, Pitsinos said: "The bull is remarkable, showing great tenacity, a love for life, even eluding authorities."
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
Luxe apts. got tax break without affordable housing ... Suburban voters and midterms ... LI employs 90% of highest paid government employees ... County on hook for $70M for dangerous intersection
Luxe apts. got tax break without affordable housing ... Suburban voters and midterms ... LI employs 90% of highest paid government employees ... County on hook for $70M for dangerous intersection
